OUR AREAS OF LAW

 Reaching a financial settlement in a divorce can get complicated. 

We help keep things simple by making the legal side easier to understand and will guide you through this process with the care and attention it needs and the information required to make well-informed decisions about your financial security today and in the future. 

A financial settlement is an agreement to sort out any financial issues and fairly separate your assets once the marriage is over.

It can include: 

• Money – savings, investments and life insurance policies
• Property – the family home and any property owned individually
• Household contents
• Cars
• Pensions
• Businesses
• Personal items (Valued at over £500 must be disclosed) 
• Debts, loans and credit cards 

There are several ways to reach a financial settlement, from an agreement between the couple and a lawyer drafting a legally binding document to a series of court hearings. We can advise on the right approach to take for your situation.

Where a divorcing couple cannot agree on how their assets should be divided, they can usually apply to the Family Court and commence financial remedy proceedings.

Essentially, financial remedy proceedings involve the parties declaring their financial position to each other in a document known as Form E, and then asking the court to decide what a fair division of their assets is. The parties are usually free to end the proceedings at any time by agreement.

The key to success in such cases is a careful and forensic analysis of the history of the parties’ relationship and their financial circumstances. As family law barristers, we are specialist family lawyers who are experienced in analysing cases in this way.

Proceedings start with a first hearing (also known as an FDA), then proceed to a financial dispute resolution hearing ( also known as an FDR), and end with a final hearing in the family court.

Ultimately, the court will make a decision about the division of assets based on a range of well-established considerations set out in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, including: the welfare of any children, the length of the marriage, the parties’ contributions to the marriage, and the parties’ resources and financial needs.

We work in all areas of financial remedy proceedings. We regularly represent clients in all areas of such work, including advising on strategy and settlement, drafting position statements, and attendance at family court hearings.