Lorraine Harvey
Partner, Family Law
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For initial legal advice call our Divorce Solicitors and we will help you.
Our Family Law Solicitors and Divorce Solicitors are here to offer you practical legal advice and support on dividing your finances following a divorce.
Negotiating a financial settlement or applying for a Financial Order can cause disputes. We aim to minimise animosity in every case, we’ll help you to be clear about where you stand legally, and we’ll take firm legal action when it’s needed.
We’ll work tirelessly to achieve the best possible outcome for you and any relevant children. We can tailor our service to your unique situation, and our Family Law Solicitors will always communicate with you in plain English with no legal jargon.
We have an excellent national reputation in Family Law. We are accredited by the Law Society of England and Wales, and all our team are members of Resolution, a national organisation of Family Lawyers committed to non-confrontational dispute resolution in divorce financial settlement cases.
Our legal experts work on fixed fee divorces or hourly rates and will explain your costs and payment options upfront, so you’ll know exactly where you stand.
For initial legal advice, get in touch with our Family Law Solicitors.
We're rated‘Excellent’A Divorce Financial Order is a Court Order dealing with the division of a couple’s finances when they get divorced. Things included in a Financial Order are:
A Consent Order is a Court Order that makes the financial settlement you’ve negotiated with your ex-partner. It protects both parties as neither can bring a future financial claim against the other. Consent Orders can be varied or set aside by the Court.
Clean Break Orders are for couples who are to be financially independent of each other. They dismiss all financial claims against each other you may have in the future. They provide a clean break, ending your rights to request further financial provision in the form of capital or income, including after death of your ex-spouse. This will protect any future wealth or assets you acquire and will also prevent claims against your estate from a former spouse which could cause problems for your new family.
Pension Sharing Orders establish how each person’s pensions are to be shared. Often these apply when one person earns significantly less than the other or gave up their career to care for the children.
A Freezing Order ‘freezes’ someone’s assets, meaning they cannot be disposed of or transferred offshore. Freezing Orders are useful if there are concerns that one person might try to move their assets out of reach during the negotiation of a divorce financial settlement.
Mesher Orders defer the sale of the family home until a specific time. This might be the youngest child’s 18th birthday, or some other trigger event. After this, the property must be sold, and the proceeds split as per the agreement if a buy-out is not possible.
These Orders are necessary where you have a Financial Order, but your ex-partner fails to comply with the terms. Usually, you can recover some or all of your legal costs from your ex-partner as their non-compliance with the Financial Order has forced you to get to court.
If a Maintenance Order is in place and you want to amend it, you need to apply for a Variation of a Maintenance Order. Either person can make this application, regardless of whether you pay maintenance or receive it. You can ask for the amount or the duration of payments to be altered, but you must have a good reason for making the request.
Non Molestation Orders are used when one partner is threatening or committing domestic abuse, They are not just limited to divorce situations and can be used against family members or former partners. They prevent a person from using or threatening violence or verbal abuse towards you and your child, and from pestering, harassing, and intimidating you.
An Occupation Order states who can live in the family home. They are typically used in cases of domestic abuse to prevent one party from accessing the family home to ensure the safety of the occupants.
A portion of one party’s pension is set aside for their ex-spouse who will receive their percentage when the pension starts being paid out.
Where part or all the financial settlement is paid all at once. For example, the Court could order a lump sum payment of spousal maintenance or a pension division.
The lump sum that is paid at a later date. The Court can order interest to be paid on the sum if such an order is made.
A Property Adjustment Order is where the Court reallocates property and financial assets between spouses.
An Order that one party pays the other spousal maintenance in a weekly or monthly sum.
A Financial Order is made by the Court. A Divorce Financial Order will state how your matrimonial assets are to be divided and make the division of assets legally binding. Even if you have no assets, it is important to bring this financial relationship to an end with a “clean break”, especially where there are debts in order to prevent future claims. This will also protect any new family in the future.
Financial settlements are informal agreements negotiated between parties. A financial settlement can be presented to the Court and, if the Court thinks the agreement is fair, it will make the agreement legally binding.
We’ll apply to the Court on your behalf and draft a settlement agreement to be presented to the Judge.
The family law system in England and Wales is designed to help couples avoid having to go to Court. We’ll do everything possible to help you and your ex-partner work out how to divide your property and assets. If a dispute develops, we can help you access mediation. Once you have agreed a settlement, we’ll apply to the Court to make it legally binding.
Sometimes, despite everyone’s best efforts, it is impossible to avoid going to Court. If this happens, we’ll work tenaciously to get the Financial Order you need to move on with your life.
It is likely you will need to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) to see if you and your ex-partner can resolve your dispute with a Mediator’s help. In some cases, for example, where there is a history of domestic abuse in the relationship, you won’t have to attend a MIAM.
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Every case is looked at on an individual basis and the welfare of any children will be the main priority. The Courts in England and Wales view non-financial contributions to the marriage, such as looking after the home and childcare, as equal to financial contributions.
The usual starting point is that the Court will divide the matrimonial property and assets equally between the parties. But the settlement must be fair and meet the needs of each partner. If a 50/50 split cannot achieve this, the Court may award more to the financially weaker spouse.
To work out a settlement, the Court must consider all the factors under section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1974.
The Court must consider all the following when calculating a financial settlement:
To achieve fairness and meet financial needs, the Court may have to award Spousal Maintenance as part of the settlement. Spousal Maintenance is likely to be made for a fixed term or until a certain event (such as moving in with a new partner) occurs.
It depends on how well you and your ex-partner can agree on how your matrimonial property and assets should be divided. At Simpson Millar, we fast-track the process by providing help and support with negotiation and mediation so you can avoid having to bring Court proceedings.
You must make a full and frank financial disclosure to your ex-partner and the Court. If you believe your ex-partner is hiding assets, we’ll work with forensic accountants to find out where they are and apply for a Freezing Order to stop them being sold or given away.
Trust and honesty are essential when it comes to working out a financial settlement. Therefore, full and frank financial disclosure about your finances, accompanied by supporting statements and documents is a must. This allows you and your ex-partner to get to grips with your financial position and what is available to be divided.
When working out how to divide your assets, we’ll guide you through the section 25 factors mentioned above. This will help you reach a fair settlement that is likely to be approved by the Court and turned into a Consent Order.
The starting point is typically dividing the property and assets equally. But if this does not lead to a fair settlement that meets both parties’ needs, then we’ll help you negotiate how to split the assets, so an equitable outcome is achieved.
Asset dividing is flexible, and we can help you come up with creative ways to help everyone get what they need.
There are many things which need to be taken into consideration when separating in a divorce but one of the main ones is how to deal with the finances. Our leading divorce lawyer Lorraine Harvey gives some advice.
If a dispute develops about how assets should be divided, we’ll do everything possible to help you work through matters with the help of some negotiation. If you still cannot agree, you will need to attend a MIAM (unless you are exempted) to see if mediation is a suitable way for your and your ex-partner to resolve the dispute. And if mediation is unsuccessful, you’ll need to bring Court proceedings to obtain a Financial Order.
In its simplest form, a matrimonial asset is one that is acquired during the time you were married. Matrimonial assets can include properties, pensions, business interests, furniture, cars, shares, and other investments. Any property bought before the wedding to be used by both of you together also counts as matrimonial property.
Non-matrimonial assets are things that were acquired when you were single, such as inheritances, a business, or a home.
It depends on whether the needs of both parties can be met by dividing the matrimonial assets. How long you have been married can also impact whether property has remained outside the matrimonial pot. For example, let’s say you have been married for over 40 years. Twenty years ago, you or your spouse received an inheritance. This money was used to renovate your home and buy a new car, and nothing was mentioned about keeping it separate. It is likely that the inheritance funds have become so intermingled with matrimonial property, that separating them would be impossible. In such a case, what was purchased with the inheritance becomes matrimonial property.
Pension assets gained before marriage are almost always classed as non matrimonial assets as they are seldom intermingled with matrimonial property.
The only way to protect your assets from being divided in a Divorce Financial Settlement is to have a Pre or Post-Nuptial Agreement in place. Although these are not legally binding, if they are fair and reasonable and both parties received independent legal advice during the drafting and signing of the agreement, the Court is likely to attach significant weight to it.
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Pensions are a valuable part of many financial settlements. There are three main ways they are divided:
Deferred pension sharing or lump sum payments may also be considered. We’ll take you through all the options and advise which is best for you.
We are sensitive, friendly, and dependable and most importantly our family law team is recognised as one of the best in the country. Family law matters can be extremely complex and full of emotion. We’ll be the people you can rely on to support you, act in the best interests of your children, and find solutions that work for your whole family.
Our Family Law Solicitors are members of Resolution, an organisation of family law professionals that promotes resolving family disputes in a non-confrontational way and lobbies for positive changes to the family law system. We are also ranked in the Legal 500 and hold a Family Law Accreditation from the Law Society of England and Wales. This shows our team’s dedication to providing exceptional legal advice and representation to all our clients.
It depends on your circumstances, the value of the house, and the amount owed on your mortgage. If you have children, the Court may say that the house needs to be kept (if possible) until they are grown up to ensure their life, schooling, and friendships remain stable. The person who is caring for the children most of the time can usually expect to stay in the family home during this time. Once your youngest child has turned 18 or finished their education, the house can be sold and the proceeds of the sale divided.
Yes, it is advisable to apply for a Clean Break Order as it will prevent your ex-partner from bringing a financial claim against you in the future.
If you have a Clean Break Order, your ex-partner cannot bring a future claim for any money you inherit.
Generally speaking, the Court will not expect you to sell a business which is providing the income that you and your family live on. However, the business will have to be valued, and the value will be considered when calculating the financial settlement.
For many couples, the family home, along with pension assets, are their most valuable asset. We’ll advise you on your options when it comes to deciding the best way to deal with the family home. For example, you may choose that the parent with whom your children mostly live with stays in the family home until your youngest child turns 18 years and then divide the money from the sale of the house equally. This is a common solution as it minimises disruption to children’s lives and friendships. We’ll help you and your ex-partner work out the best solution for you and your family.
Unfortunately not. Although ‘conduct’ is listed as a factor the Courts must consider under section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1974, in practice, the conduct must be extremely grim for it to impact the financial settlement. We know how painful it is if you are divorcing because your partner was unfaithful and if we need to talk to you about it, we’ll do so with sensitivity and compassion.
It is also important to note that since 6 April 2022, England and Wales have had ‘no-fault’ divorce. This means that you can apply for a divorce without having to say one party was at fault because they committed adultery or their behaviour was ‘unreasonable.
The general rule is that the Court will not order either person to contribute towards the other’s legal fees in the case of a divorce-related dispute. Instead, the Court will want to know how much each of you has spent on legal fees and will try to take that into account in dividing up other assets.
At Simpson Millar, we are completely transparent when it comes to our fees. You can trust that we will explain everything regarding fees to you in plain English. You will never receive an unexpected invoice from us.
Pensions are often one of the largest assets apart from the family home. We’ll discuss the options around dividing pension assets and whether the pension you accrued before you got married is non matrimonial property.
Equal sharing is a starting point. If this results in a fair settlement with both parties’ financial needs being met, the Court will normally split assets 50/50. But in reality, especially where children are involved, a 50/50 split will be unfair on one party.
Yes, any debts acquired during the marriage are part of the matrimonial pot no matter whose name they are in.
If the mortgage is in joint names, you both remain responsible for meeting the payments until a financial settlement is agreed or the Court grants a Financial Order setting out what is to be done with the family home.
If you have a joint bank account either you or your spouse can empty it of funds. The bank cannot prevent this. The best way to protect your money is to make the account a joint signature account so both of you must give permission before any money is withdrawn. Also, you should cancel any joint credit cards so your ex-partner cannot run up debt in your name.
If you have a family business its assets will normally be classed as matrimonial property. Dividing a business is often complex but you can be confident that our Family Law Solicitors have the expertise and experience to protect your best interests.
A Pre or Post-Nuptial Agreement is not legally enforceable but if it is fair and you both received independent legal advice when the document was drafted and signed, the Court is likely to uphold it.
If you have a Financial Order, your ex-partner must follow it. If they don’t, we’ll get the Court to enforce it.
In cases where you have agreed a financial settlement but have not transferred this into a Consent Order, we will advise you on how to make your agreement legally enforceable.
You should contact the Child Maintenance Service. They can enforce child maintenance payments and collect the money directly from your ex-partner and pass it onto you.
Yes, although most people try to get the financial settlement and divorce sorted out at the same time.
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