The financial implications of a marriage breakdown inevitably cause unfounded stress and anxiety for everyone involved. At Child Law Partnership, we will allay your concerns and keep you fully informed of your rights and duties regarding matrimonial property and assets. Whether you are considering divorce or formally separating, a financial settlement must be determined.  In the divorce proceedings this is known as applying for a financial order.

The Matrimonial Causes Act establishes the basis of the law regarding family finances and our specialist solicitors will guide you through each and every process with clarity and precision. Many of our clients have complex financial assets, including offshore trusts, and family businesses. We are experts in working with our client’s best interests at heart, fully informing them of their entitlements, performing expert negotiations on their behalf and securing favourable settlements. We also deal with clients with modest assets where time is of the essence and ensure the proceedings are completed with speed and urgency.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

Q: I am considering an application for financial order. What orders can the Court put in place?
A: The court can make orders regarding the following: maintenance payments and the length they should run, transfer of property, ordering the sale of property and the consequent share of proceeds, transfer of lump sums of money and pension sharing.

Q: How long will it take for the Court to respond to my application?
A: The court will immediately set a time frame for the first stage of the process and inform both party of what information is required. This will involve a complete disclosure of each party’s financial situation. A date will also be set for the court to review whether satisfactory disclosure has been received and if so a Financial Dispute Resolution date will be set.

Q: What happens if my partner prolongs the submittal of his financial situation? Will this hold up the proceedings?
A: The Courts need significant information from both parties to be able to proceed with settlement. Forms will be distributed for both parties to complete and a timescale to submit these forms will be put in place. If the Court does not receive the forms within this timescale they can penalise that person by issuing a monetary fine.

Q: How will the Court make a decision regarding finances?
A: The Court will take into account a number of complex factors to determine the settlement, the most important consideration being whether there are any children involved. Other factors include income, earning capacity, financial needs and responsibilities, standard of living prior to marriage breakdown, length of marriage, disabilities, contributions to date, any mitigating circumstances leading to the divorce, etc. All this information will be submitted to the courts during the initial processes.

Q: Is it possible to deal with financial settlement outside the Courts and make an amicable agreement between the two of us?
A: Child Law Partnership encourages a resolution of financial settlements outside Court if possible. As members of Resolution, we firmly promote a constructive approach to reaching an amicable settlement. We can aid negotiation and offer advice throughout so that a settlement can be reached outside of Court, saving our clients time and substantial costs.

Q: I have heard of collaborative law, as an alternative method of reaching a settlement. What exactly does it mean?
A: Collaborative Law is a method used to reach a settlement in an amicable way, introducing the concept of mediation. Both the husband and wife will sit face to face in a room, each with a solicitor to represent them and a discussion will take place to establish a fair and satisfactory financial solution. It is more personable as it avoids the usual exchanges of third party correspondence between solicitors that can often come across as more harsh and direct than intended, creating ill-feeling between both parties. Some of Child Law Partnership’s lawyers have specialist training in this area.

Q: How much will it cost?
A: This is hard to determine as many factors can alter the costs, including whether the case goes to court and the length of time it takes to reach an agreement. Child Law Partnership will always ensure our clients are fully updated at every stage of the proceedings so there are no sudden, hidden costs. Please visit our cost structure section for further clarity.

Q: What shall I do next?
A: Please do not hesitate to contact one of our offices so we can talk you through the next steps and book an initial consultation. Our offices are situated in Basingstoke and Guildford.