Financial Remedies & Settlements Harrow & London, UK
In most cases where parties separate, whether they wish to divorce or not, arrangements have to be made with regard to finances. This can involve what should happen to the family home, whether maintenance should be paid by one party to the other, what the parties should receive with regard to the family assets and what level of child maintenance is appropriate. Financial orders and financial remedies are an extremely complex area of the law where there is both statute and Court based interpretation of the law on a constantly evolving basis. The potential outcome for you is likely to be very heavily dependent on the facts of your case. Every case is unique. It is our main area of expertise. Financial orders and financial remedies are the description given to the financial proceedings that arise on the breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership. This area of law is highly complex and constantly evolving, with new decisions from the Appeal Courts on a frequent basis. There is an overriding duty to provide full and frank disclosure to the other party of your financial circumstances. Any long term financial agreements you enter into will have a fundamental long term impact on your lifestyle, your standard of housing and your long term security, possibly even into retirement. It is important therefore to obtain specialist advice from solicitors who specialise in this area of work. In the first instance, we may try to reach a compromise with the other party in the form of a negotiated settlement. Often, however, proceedings have to be issued to provide a structured Court timetable and in turn provide a framework for a negotiated settlement. In rare cases, a contested trial is required. When divorce proceedings are issued, either party to the proceedings can claim against the other or for the children, the following: "Maintenance Pending Outcome of Proceedings" (previously known as Maintenance Pending Suit) This is an application for interim "maintenance", that is, financial support. It is designed to cover the short-term position until long-term financial arrangements are made. It may also provide funding for legal fees. "Periodical Payments/Child Support Agency Assessments" The Court's ability to make maintenance orders for children is now severely restricted. Whilst a Court can, with the agreement of both parents, still make a maintenance order for a child, once the order has been running for a year either parent can apply to the Child Support Agency to calculate what should be the appropriate child support payment under the Agency's formula and this will then replace the Court ordered figure. The basic formula is that the "non-resident" parent will pay from their net (as defined) weekly income: 15% where there is one "qualifying child" 20% where there are two qualifying children 25% where there are three or more children This calculation can be affected by various other factors, such as the number of nights the child or children stay with the "non-resident" parent. Generally, whilst on the face of it, calculations under the new formula are less complex compared to the old one, there are still very many complications and in some instances a discretion is built into this new system which may affect your case. In cases where there is an international element with the child or one of the parents abroad, it is likely that the Court will have jurisdiction over child support. The CSA/CMEC website is helpful and it includes a CSA calculation module. As to maintenance orders for a spouse these may be open-ended, end at a set date or on the occurrence of a particular event, for example, the children ending their full-time education. All such orders may be increased or decreased to reflect changing circumstances, such as, for example, unemployment. A spouse receiving maintenance payments can later ask the Court for a further lump sum in exchange for giving up their rights to maintenance. "A lump sum" A sum of money ordered to be paid to one party by the other, usually within a specified time. "A transfer of property order" An order for one person to transfer to another a property, frequently the former family home, but the definition of "property" is very wide. "Orders in respect of pensions" The Court may make pension sharing orders against a pension fund, that is, an order against the pension fund trustees to transfer a proportion of a scheme holder's pension into a separate fund for their spouse. Some schemes allow "internal transfers", that is, to allow the spouse who is receiving the pension sharing order to stay within the same scheme, or there can be a "transfer out" where the recipient spouse has the funds transferred out into a new scheme. Alternatively, the Court can order what used to be called "earmarking" but are now called "attachment" orders against a scheme so that upon a pension scheme holder's eventual retirement, a proportion of the lump sum or pension income can be paid to the othe