| You and your
spouse may be able to reach agreement as
to financial arrangements arising from divorce
or separation, including maintenance and
how property and other assets may be divided.
If this is the case, the agreement that
has been reached may be recorded in an a
Deed of Separation or in an Order to be
made by the Court with your consent and
it will generally not be necessary for you
to attend Court.
If no agreement can be reached, applications
can be made to the Court for periodical
payments (i.e. maintenance), lump sum, property
adjustment orders and orders in relation
to pensions.
The Court procedures require each party
to file a Financial Statement detailing
their property, assets, income and financial
needs; there will be Hearings before the
Court, including a Financial Dispute Resolution
Hearing where the possibility of resolving
matters through negotiation will be investigated.
If an agreement cannot be reached, a full
Court Hearing will take place before a Judge
who will decide what represents a fair division
of your finances.
When making any decision relating to financial
matters, the Court will have regard to all
the circumstances of the case and put the
welfare of any children first. We will advise
you about Court procedures including the
preparation of Financial Statements, valuation
of any properties, documents that must be
disclosed and representation in Court if
you are required to attend.
Various Orders can be made regarding the
family home which include:-
| A transfer
from the names of both spouses to just
one name. This may involve one spouse
making a lump sum payment to the other. |
| A sale and division of
the proceeds of the home. Any division
would need to reflect the needs of each
party to be adequately re-housed. |
| A deferred sale, when
division of the proceeds may occur after
the spouse remaining in the home re-marries,
cohabits, or the children have ceased
full-time education. |
On divorce, Orders can be made in relation
to pensions. A Court must have regard to any
pension benefits that either party may have
and benefits that either party may lose the
chance of acquiring by reason of divorce.
A Pension Sharing Order will result in the
transfer of a percentage of the value of a
pension held by one party to a fund in the
other party’s name. A Pension Attachment
Order is a deferred Order whereby a percentage
of benefits will be paid to the party without
pension benefits on the other party’s
retirement. |
