When a marriage or relationship breaks up, it can be physically and emotionally draining. There are often many factors to consider, from how to manage or divide property and savings, who will be responsible for paying bills and mortgage payments going forwards and childcare arrangements if you have children. If the breakdown is irretrievable, then you might be considering divorce or separation. For further information on family law, please do not hesitate to contact your trusted solicitors today.
Unlike a divorce, a separation agreement allows you to live apart but remain married and to reach a voluntary agreement with your spouse regarding property, investments and children. You can incorporate this into a separation agreement or deed of separation to formalise the decisions you have made jointly.
There are likely to be a number of financial matters that need resolving if you are in a relationship which breaks down, or you get divorced, from what will happen to the family home, assets and your pensions to what financial support there will be for any children you have.
Whether you are going through a divorce, separation, relationship breakup or the dissolution of a civil partnership, we can help you in settling your financial issues with your former partner and come to an amicable and legally binding agreement. Finances are usually dealt with separately to divorce proceedings but can be handled at the same time.
Financial matters can usually be resolved through negotiations between the couple, collaborative law or mediation. If your case does go to court, an agreement is often reached before the final hearing, and our family team have considerable experience in the court process.
Dividing assets upon divorce is not as straightforward as you might expect, and the court has a large discretion in deciding how the assets should be split.
There are many factors that will be taken into consideration, which are outlined in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. These include:
In addition, the Court will also factor in the idea that marriage is a partnership and therefore the results of that partnership should be shared, as well as whether one spouse should be compensated for the way financial affairs were managed during the marriage, which could have resulted in them missing out on the chance to accrue assets, income or pension provision.
If you own a business then you will naturally want to protect it if you are going through a divorce, however it will not aid your case if you try to avoid future claims by moving assets or shareholdings. If you are the sole owner of a business, then if you get divorced the business will be treated by the courts like any other asset, in which case it may be divided and shared.
During divorce proceedings, the business may be valued, the outcome of which could influence discussions in court. Your business may be scrutinised, and its liquidity looked at to assess whether it can be used to meet the claims of the family.
We would always suggest seeking advice early so that you can best prepare yourself and gain an understanding of how the court process works and what you might plan to do to avoid an outcome you don’t want. We will work with you to gather information on your financial position and that of your former spouse’s. If you are a business owner, we can advise on drawing up a pre- or post-nuptial agreement to limit the claims your spouse can make against the business if you get divorced.
We have plenty of information regarding Wills, so please get in touch to learn more.
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