{"id":2653,"date":"2025-07-16T14:38:46","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T13:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/?p=2653"},"modified":"2025-07-16T14:55:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T13:55:32","slug":"finances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/archives\/2653","title":{"rendered":"Finances"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Finances on Divorce or Dissolution<\/h2><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Finances on Divorce or Dissolution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When a marriage or civil partnership ends in England and Wales, sorting out finances is inevitably one of the most complex and emotionally charged aspects of the process. The law aims to achieve fairness, but there is no fixed formula, and ultimately each case is assessed individually based on its facts and circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Legal Framework<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Whilst there\u2019s no fixed framework, financial arrangements are governed by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Divorce: Matrimonial Causes Act (1973<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Dissolution: Civil Partnership Act 2004<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The court\u2019s primary concern will be the welfare of any children under 18. In addition to that, it considers factors such as income, earning capacity, property, financial needs, contributions, age, health, and standard of living – these are the s25 MCA factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Types of Financial Orders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The court can make several types of financial orders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Lump Sum Order: one off payment from one party to the other<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Property Adjustment Order: transfer or sale of property<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Spousal Maintenance: Regular payments to support a former spouse or civil partner.<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Pension Sharing Order: division of pension assets<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Clean Break Order: ends financial ties between parties<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Mediation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Couples should try to agree their financial arrangements together or with the help of a mediator. If agreement can be reached, this must be formalised via a consent order (and approved by a judge), so that it is legally binding on both parties.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Financial Disclosure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Both parties must provide full financial disclosure, including details of income, assets, debts, and pensions. This is to ensure there is transparency for the parties, and also helps the mediator, and ultimately the court if needed, to assess what is fair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Court Proceedings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If no agreement is reached, either party can apply for a financial order. The process will involve up to three hearings: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>First Directions Appointment (FDA): If parties have reached an agreement, this hearing can produce a final consent order. Otherwise it will try to indentify the issues and provide directions for the next hearing.<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR): A judge, different to the one at the FDA, will try to help the parties to come to a resolution. If they can agree, a final consent order can be drawn up. If not, further directions are given for the final hearing.<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Final Hearing: The judge uses this hearing to make final decisions on how the marital assets will be divided.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How the Court decides<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is no automatic 50\/50 split, but that is a starting point. The court considers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Needs Based Approach: Ensuring both parties and children have adequate housing and income.<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Sharing Principle: Assets acquired during the relationship may be shared equally. <\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Compensation Principle: Recognising sacrificies made by one party (e.g. giving up a career).<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Pensions and Business Interests<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pensions should not be overlooked as they can be significant. Business assets may also be considered matrimonial property, depending on how they were used during the relationship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Spousal Maintenance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This may be awarded if one party cannot meet their needs. It can be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Fixed Term: for a specified set period<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Joint Lives: Until remarriage or death.<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/path><\/svg><\/span>Nominal: A placeholder for future claims.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Clean Break<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where possible, courts favour a clean break, which ends all financial obligations between parties. This provides certainty and finality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tax and Costs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Transfers of assets may have tax implications. Legal costs can be substantial, so early resolution is encouraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial arrangements on divorce or dissolution require careful planning, transparency, and legal advice. Whether through agreement or court order, the aim is a fair outcome that meets the needs of all parties, and especially the children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finances on Divorce or Dissolution Finances on Divorce or Dissolution When a marriage or civil partnership ends in England and Wales, sorting out finances is inevitably one of the most complex and emotionally charged aspects of the process. The law aims to achieve fairness, but there is no fixed formula, and ultimately each case is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"zakra_page_container_layout":"customizer","zakra_page_sidebar_layout":"customizer","zakra_remove_content_margin":false,"zakra_sidebar":"customizer","zakra_transparent_header":"customizer","zakra_logo":0,"zakra_main_header_style":"default","zakra_menu_item_color":"","zakra_menu_item_hover_color":"","zakra_menu_item_active_color":"","zakra_menu_active_style":"","zakra_page_header":true,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[178],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-finances"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Lea_NSW","author_link":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/archives\/author\/admin"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Finances on Divorce or Dissolution Finances on Divorce or Dissolution When a marriage or civil partnership ends in England and Wales, sorting out finances is inevitably one of the most complex and emotionally charged aspects of the process. The law aims to achieve fairness, but there is no fixed formula, and ultimately each case is…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2653"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2667,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653\/revisions\/2667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.no53legal.uk\/nws\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}