FINANCIAL OUTCOMES

Financial and Separation Settlements

There are a number of ways to reach a financial settlement. It can be agreed by a couple themselves or with advice and help from a solicitor, or by a couple engaging in mediation, or a collaborative process or through the courts. At Spectrum Family Law we can offer all of these alternatives.

Once agreed, for married couples, it is highly advisable that the settlement is formalised into a legally binding Court order – referred to as a "Consent Order", so that neither party can go back on the agreement. It is usual for this to be done without the need for anyone to set foot inside a Court.

For unmarried couples a separation agreement should be considered to record the agreement reached in case of any future disagreement.

Possible orders

• Maintenance Order -This is the payment of a regular sum of money by one to the other, usually monthly, for the benefit of the other or for the benefit of the children.
• Lump Sum Order - The payment of a specific sum of money. This order can be made by way of compensation for an interest in a property, the house contents, savings, investments or business interests such as a Family Business.
• Property Adjustment Order- The transferring of property from one to the other, or adjusting ownership of property between the couple or giving one of them a specific interest in property. This is most commonly used in relation to the family home although there are all sorts of property which can be made subject to this order for example, holiday home, car or company shares.
• Pension Sharing Order -After the family home, one of the other most valuable assets can be a pension and the Court now has a number of ways in which to deal with those, and can also include pension off-setting, or orders for pension attachment or ear marking.
• In Divorce where there is a Family Business you need to take specific advice as each case is different. Please contact us.

Protecting Property Rights

This may be necessary where one party owns a property in his or her sole name, to protect and preserve the property so that it can form part of the assets to be considered in the overall division.

Action can also be taken if there is a risk that one party may try and dispose of assets to avoid them being taken into account in the overall division. This is done through an Injunction.