Financial Arrangements

When parties divorce, unless they also dismiss their financial claims against one another they remain open indefinitely until death or remarriage and therefore it is important that financial matters are dealt with at the same time as the divorce.

Financial agreements can be reached via one of the following methods:-

1. Parties discuss finances directly between themselves.
2. Parties attend mediation.
3. Parties sign up to a collaborative process which requires both parties’ solicitors to be collaboratively trained. Both parties agree at the start of the process that there will be no application to Court made and if the situation arises that the parties are not able to reach agreement then they have to find new solicitors and start the negotiations again.
4. Solicitor negotiation. Following financial disclosure being exchanged, an agreement is negotiated via solicitors.
5. Application for Financial Remedy Proceedings. The Court will timetable matters such as financial disclosure (Form E’s and Questionnaires) and you will be required to attend Court. It is encouraged that the parties still try to reach agreement between themselves, assisted by the Court, but in the event that this is not possible, a Judge will make a decision at a final hearing. This decision will be legally binding on the parties.
6. An independent arbitrator will deal with all stages of the case from start to finish and you and your partner have the major say in how the proceedings are run. A final decision is binding on the parties.

If using options 1 to 4 above, you must make sure that any financial agreement is drawn up in to a Consent Order by a Solicitor, which is signed by both parties to the marriage and sent to the Court for approval and sealing.

When negotiating the financial agreement, it is vital that parties understand that due to them being married all finances are included in the “matrimonial pot”, this includes all income, capital and pensions. There can be discussion as to whether an asset falls outside of the “matrimonial pot” in situations for example where the parties have been separated for quite some time before divorcing or where the marriage was very short. It is imperative that the parties have full financial disclosure and whichever route above that they decide to take, no agreement should be reached without being certain that they understand the full financial picture.

The starting point for discussion is a 50/50 split of the “matrimonial pot” however there are factors which can tip the balance in favour of either party depending on individual circumstances. There is no set formulae and an agreement should be very carefully considered.

Our family law solicitors are highly experienced and can assist you in relation to any matrimonial financial resolution. We are able to deal with complex financial matters or simple clean break orders for you.

We also work closely with our other teams such as property and inheritance protection  to provide a complete service.

For more information on how we can help support you come to a matrimonial financial resolution, please contact one of our family specialists in our Newbury, Thatcham or Maidenhead offices below.