Sorting out how you split the equity in the family home can be tricky. It can be a lot harder to reach a divorce settlement when you are also trying to agree on who pays the bank loan and credit cards, what happens to the pensions, and whether one of you should pay spousal maintenance and for how long. In this blog, our family law solicitors answer your questions on divorce financial settlements.  Call us for expert family law advice or complete our online enquiry form.  Reaching a divorce settlement  In the UK, divorce settlements are discretionary and based on reasonable needs. The statutory factors make it hard for couples to reach a financial agreement as English family law doesn’t say that a husband and wife must split their assets equally or that a wife must return to full-time employment when the youngest child is 11 or that a husband will always keep a family business owned before the marriage or even that the divorce court must follow a prenuptial agreement. If there are no hard and fast rules, how are divorce settlements reached? Ultimately, if a husband and wife can't agree, it is down to a family court judge to decide what happens to each asset and make a financial court order. The judge will look at statutory criteria and case law when making the order. When a divorce solicitor advises on likely divorce settlement outcomes, they base their advice on their experience in negotiating settlements and representing spouses in contested financial court proceedings.  Divorce settlement advice   If you need divorce settlement advice, it's crucial to speak to a divorce lawyer. The solicitor will talk to you about your circumstances before offering advice. Examples of why information and talking are important include: It is often assumed there should be a 50/50 split of assets after a long marriage. However, that assumption could be displaced for several reasons, such as the wife can't get a mortgage and needs more than 50% of the assets to buy a new family home for herself and the children or most of the assets were inherited by the husband before the marriage and the wife can comfortably rehouse herself and meet all her other needs with 30% of the total assets. Alternatively, the couple may have signed a prenuptial agreement to ringfence inherited money Clean breaks should be achieved to end any financial or other ongoing ties between husband and wife. However, if the family home is sold, the equity won't be enough for either the husband or wife to buy another property, so both parents will be stuck renting. Maybe the parent who is the primary carer of the children should stay in the family home until the youngest child is 18. The house can then be sold, and the proceeds of the sale can be split in percentages fair to the ex-husband and wife   Discretion and how it works with divorce settlements Family law solicitors will outline the discretionary factors the court applies when making a financial court order after a contested final hearing of a financial application. The factors are just as relevant if you are negotiating an agreement through family mediation, solicitor negotiations or trying to do a deal at a financial dispute resolution hearing. The discretionary factors are contained in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The lawyer shorthand for them is ‘Section 25 criteria’. The court’s first concern should be the welfare of any dependent children and how the children's needs will be met. The court should then consider the Section 25 criteria: The income, earning capacity, property, and other financial resources that the husband and wife have or are likely to have in the foreseeable future. With earning capacity, this includes any increase in that capacity which it would, in the opinion of the court, be reasonable to expect a husband or wife to take steps to acquire The financial needs, obligations, and responsibilities that the husband and wife have or are likely to have in the foreseeable future The standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage The age of the husband and wife and the length of the relationship  Any health issues affecting either the husband or wife or their children   The contributions made by the husband or wife or likely to be made in the foreseeable future to the welfare of the family, including any contribution as a homemaker or stay-at-home parent  The conduct of the husband or wife if that conduct is such that it would, in the opinion of the court, be inequitable to disregard it The value to the husband and wife of any benefit (for example, a pension) that they will lose the chance of acquiring because of the divorce With this list of factors, it is easy to see how, in some situations, a judge may order a different financial settlement from another judge. However, the difference in judicial view should be within a band of reasonableness. For example, it would be unreasonable for one judge to say an equal split of equity in the family home and for another one to say a 90/10 split of the equity in the family home would meet the Section 25 criteria. With the uncertainty of judicial discretion, most divorcing couples prefer to try to negotiate a divorce financial consent order based on their family lawyer’s assessment of the Section 25 criteria. [related_posts] How to get the best divorce settlement  Some people think the only way to get the best divorce settlement is to apply to the court for a financial order.  They may be right. For example, if their former spouse is refusing to provide financial disclosure, is transferring assets to friends or family or is refusing to agree to a valuation of the family home or business. In other situations, a divorcing husband or wife must weigh up the costs and time in making a financial application against the benefits to be gained.  A family law solicitor will tell you that if your ex-spouse is only offering you 10% of the family assets, you need to go to court. It is far harder to advise on the decision to start financial proceedings if your former spouse is offering you 45%. The decision may then come down to the value of the 5% of the assets you may be losing out on balanced against the costs of going to court. Things are often more complicated than that, as you may also dispute your ex-spouse’s valuation of his business or home, or you may argue that your ex-partner is offering you assets that are not as valuable to you as the ones you want. For example, they may be proposing that they will keep all the equity in the family home and you keep all your pensions, but that deal doesn’t give you the capital to rehouse yourself even though it will provide you with an income in eventual retirement. At Evolve Family Law, our North West divorce solicitors focus on finding out what your ideal divorce settlement would look like and why. We then work on discovering the full extent of the family assets and any property that might be classed as non-family assets. We can then have an informed discussion with you about your realistic settlement options so you can weigh up the pros and cons of court proceedings over family mediation or arbitration or weigh up the advantages of spousal maintenance over a bigger share of equity in the family home. Having the right expert support behind you can give you the confidence to say yes or no to what is on offer from your ex, knowing that your lawyers have a strategy to get you the divorce settlement you need. Call us for an appointment to discuss your divorce settlement or complete our online enquiry form. 

In this blog, prenuptial agreement solicitor Robin Charrot looks at the statistics on prenuptial agreements and explains why you should consider signing a prenup or postnuptial agreement. For prenuptial agreement advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Prenup statistics The research from Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management highlights that: Only one in ten couples have a prenuptial agreement Younger married couples are more likely to sign a prenup before marriage Nearly a third of those interviewed didn’t sign a prenup because they didn’t think they would get divorced Prenup research and the relevance of age The Handelsbanken research reveals how important age is to the decision to sign a relationship agreement. Although 89% of couples don’t have a prenup, the statistics are very different when broken down into age groups: 40% of couples aged 18-34 have a prenup 11% of couples aged 35-54 have a prenup 1% of couples over 55 have a prenup What’s concerning to prenuptial agreement lawyers is that according to 2021 statistics from the Office of National Statistics, the average duration of a marriage at divorce was 12.3 years for opposite-sex divorces in 2021. Handelsbanken research shows that, worryingly, those entering second or third marriages or getting married for the first time later in life are less likely to sign a prenup. While anyone getting married should consider signing a prenup, it is especially sensible to do so if you have pre-marriage acquired assets, a prior divorce financial settlement, or children from a previous relationship. Research on why couples don’t sign prenups Prenuptial agreement solicitors are always interested in discovering why people don’t want the safeguards a relationship agreement provides. The research shows: 10% hadn’t heard about prenups 15% thought they would be able to sort things out between themselves 16% were not worried about splitting up and dividing assets 17% thought assets would be split equally 32% thought they would not split up so a prenup was unnecessary The responses reveal that many of those interviewed do not see a prenup in the same way as say life or critical illness policies; a safeguard that you hopefully won't need but comforting to know it is there if you need it. [related_posts] Why you need a prenuptial agreement Let's go through the reasons why people don’t sign prenups and explain why they can be helpful: No need, we agree – when you are getting married and in love you don’t need a prenup. However, at the time of your separation or divorce, when you are likely to have far more in property equity, pensions and other assets, emotions and hurt may cloud your judgment or that of your husband or wife We are not worried – you may not be worried about having a prenup but if you do split up you may regret not signing one. A prenup can take away a lot of the worry and stress at the time of your separation because you are less likely to end up in expensive and lengthy court proceedings over how your assets should be split and if spousal maintenance should be paid No need, it's an equal split – that may be accurate at the time of your marriage but fast forward 5, 10, 15 or 20 years and it could be a different story. For example, you may need spousal maintenance if you have stayed at home to look after children or through ill health or you may want an unequal split if you inherited money during the marriage We won't split up – according to ONS statistics, nearly half of marriages end in divorce. Saying you don’t need a prenup because you won't split up is a bit like saying you don’t need critical illness coverage or a Lasting Power of Attorney because you don’t think you will fall ill. Hopefully, you are right to be positive but insurance, LPAs and prenups all give peace of mind The status of prenups in divorce proceedings Our prenuptial agreement lawyers had thought research would show that people would think a prenup wasn’t worth it as it isn’t legally binding but that did not come out as a major reason not to sign an agreement. It's true that under current English family law, a prenuptial agreement isn’t automatically legally binding on a husband and wife at the time of any future divorce proceedings but the agreement will carry significant (potentially full weight) if safeguards are met. The safeguards are: Fairness - the terms of the agreement are fair to both of you – that’s why you need a prenup solicitor to advise you on the contents Timing -the agreement is signed a few weeks before the marriage Understanding - you both understood what you were signing up for and there was no coercion Knowledge- you both provided financial disclosure to help you decide if the agreement was fair Advice – you both took independent advice from family law solicitors If you didn’t sign a prenup before your marriage you can remedy that now by signing a postnuptial or after marriage agreement. Our relationship agreement lawyers will carefully advise you on the type of agreement you need and the options for what to include in it. We will then provide sensitive advice to help you finalise and sign off on your agreement. For prenuptial or postnuptial agreement advice call our team of specialist family lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

When you separate from a husband or wife you need to reach an agreement over what happens to the house and to decide how your assets are split. Until you do so your life can feel in limbo. Our North West divorce solicitors focus on helping you reach a financial agreement that meets your needs. One way to do that is through a private financial dispute resolution. Family lawyer, Robin Charrot, explains what a private financial dispute resolution is and why it may be the best solution for you. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. What is a financial dispute resolution hearing? A financial dispute resolution hearing is a stage in the financial settlement court process. Financial court proceedings follow a set path timetabled by the court: Financial application sent to court by the husband or wife The court issues the financial application and provides a court timetable Form E financial disclosure by the husband and wife First directions appointment hearing – a preliminary hearing Court-ordered valuations, reports and further financial disclosure is obtained Financial dispute resolution hearing – a settlement hearing Final hearing (if required) Step six, the financial dispute resolution (FDR) is a court or judge-led settlement hearing. The FDR judge hears legal submissions from the representatives of the husband and wife. The FDR judge then says what they think a judge at the final hearing might order if the application had to go to the expense of a final hearing. The financial dispute resolution hearing is designed to encourage a husband and wife to reach a financial settlement. Their financial agreement is made into a binding financial consent order by the FDR judge. You cannot be forced into reaching a financial agreement at a court FDR. However, it may be in your best interests to do so to save money and to avoid the risk of your ending up with less after a final hearing. A negotiated compromise ensures that you walk away from court with a financial settlement that you are satisfied with rather than one that a judge imposes on you after hearing evidence at a final hearing. If divorce lawyers can't negotiate an acceptable financial settlement for you at the FDR, they ask the FDR judge to list the financial application for a final hearing. The final hearing won't be listed before the judge who gave their settlement views at the FDR hearing. Any offers or concessions made at the FDR hearing cannot be brought to the judge’s attention at the final hearing. Do you need a court financial dispute resolution hearing to reach a financial settlement? You only need to start financial proceedings if you can't reach a financial agreement amicably. Ways to reach an agreed financial settlement include: A private financial dispute resolution arranged outside of the court process Solicitor negotiations Roundtable meeting Family mediation Arbitration Using the One Lawyer Service at Evolve Family Law Reaching an agreement using collaborative law Direct discussions between husband and wife A family law solicitor can briefly discuss each option and recommend the one they think would be best for you. For example, if your ex won't give financial disclosure the recommendation will be to start financial court proceedings as the court can order financial disclosure and enforce the order. What is a private financial dispute resolution? A private financial dispute resolution is like a court-based financial dispute resolution hearing but instead of waiting for a court date, the FDR takes place with a private judge (a jointly appointed barrister) in their chambers or at another agreed venue. In a private FDR, you and your husband or wife pay privately for the services of the FDR judge. In addition to these fees, you also pay the cost of your divorce solicitor and any barrister instructed on your behalf. [related_posts] Preparing for a private financial dispute resolution You and your family law solicitor need to be well prepared for the private FDR to ensure that it has the best chance of helping you reach a financial settlement. This is achieved through: Financial disclosure by husband and wife Asking any extra relevant questions about the financial disclosure and getting answers Any necessary valuations obtained. For example, a valuation of the family home, business or pensions Any necessary reports obtained, such as on the tax implications of the sale or transfer of assets Checking things like your housing needs, mortgage capacity, job prospects or other relevant factors Looking at what you want to achieve from the private FDR so you go to it understanding the FDR process and knowing what you are prepared to compromise on and what your ‘bottom line’ is What are the advantages of private financial dispute resolution over a court FDR hearing? The advantages of a private FDR are: A private FDR is quicker than a court FDR hearing. Court delays and backlogs mean there could be a substantial wait for a court hearing date. You may want to reach a decision quickly so you can sell the family home or shares in a family business A private FDR is more civilised. At court, you may be negotiating outside the courtroom in the corridor because of a lack of interview rooms or feel rushed because the FDR judge has several other cases. That doesn’t happen with a private FDR. Improved facilities and time together with separate consultation rooms improve the prospects of your being able to reach a financial agreement With a private FDR the divorce solicitors select the FDR judge. At a court-based FDR, you will be allocated a judge to hear the FDR. The judge at a court FDR may not have specialised in family law before becoming a part-time or full-time judge. In a private FDR, your divorce lawyers jointly select the person who will conduct the private FDR. This can be particularly helpful if there are complex aspects to your financial settlement or if you need your private FDR judge to have experience in a particular area of family law What happens if you reach an agreement at a private financial dispute resolution? If you reach a financial agreement over how to divide your assets at a private FDR your family lawyer will either prepare a document called a ‘heads of agreement’ or a draft financial court order. The financial consent order will be sent to the family court for approval together with a financial statement of information. The statement of information gives the court sufficient information for the judge to decide whether to make the requested order. The court normally makes the agreed order without raising any questions and without the need for a court hearing. Why do you need a financial court order after reaching an agreement at a private FDR? You need a financial court order from the court after reaching an agreement at a private FDR for several reasons: If your agreement includes pension sharing the pension administrator will require the sealed court order and final order of divorce before they can implement the pension sharing order Some mortgage companies need a copy of a court order before they will agree to remove one spouse’s name from the mortgage. Alternatively, the mortgage company may require the order as proof that one spouse is receiving spousal maintenance and therefore has sufficient income for their planned borrowing If the agreement cannot be implemented you need a financial court order to be able to apply to court to enforce what was agreed If you have questions about financial settlements after a separation or divorce our specialist Northwest divorce solicitors can help guide you to reach a financial settlement and secure a financial court order. For information on private financial dispute resolution hearings or advice on divorce or family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Statistically around half of marriages end in divorce in the UK. The information from the Office for National Statistics doesn’t tell the whole story though. Our North West family law solicitors answer your questions on marriages ending in divorce in the UK. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. The ONS marriage and divorce statistics in the UK The Office for National Statistics is the place for reliable marriage and divorce data. The website reveals that: In 2021, there were 113,505 divorces granted in England and Wales The divorce rate increased by 9.6% increase compared to the figures for 2020 Divorce rates in 2021 were 9.3 for men and 9.4 for women per 1,000 of the married population. These figures include same-sex marriages In opposite-sex couples in 2021, females were more likely to start divorce proceedings than men. Just over 63% of divorce applications were started by women For opposite-sex divorces in 2021, the average duration of marriage at divorce was 12.3 years For couples married in 2011, less than 1 in 5 marriages end in divorce by the 10th wedding anniversary Should we rely on the 2021 ONS divorce data? The problem with relying on the ONS data is: The latest figures are for 2021 and not 2024 The ONS statistics are for marriages but a large percentage of the population are in cohabiting relationships. Statistics for cohabitation relationship breakdown are not recorded The headline data figures do not show regional variances but in the North West of England the place with the highest divorce rate in 2021 was Blackpool The headline statistics of 113,505 divorces in 2021 do not indicate if the divorces were first, second or third marriages Family court statistics Family court statistics give us some statistical information for 2024. The family court figures for the period January to March 2024 reveal there were: 27,908 divorce applications made, equating to an 11% deduction from the same period in 2023 21,662 final orders of divorce granted, equating to an increase of 19% from the same period in the previous year Starting divorce proceedings in 2025 Although the historical 2021 statistics show a rise in divorce proceedings the reality is that if you are in the difficult position of applying for a divorce in 2025 then the statistics will mean very little to you. Your focus will be on navigating your divorce. With the introduction of no-fault divorce, the court proceedings are streamlined and less adversarial. You no longer have to say that your ex-spouse behaved unreasonably or committed adultery. However, a divorce still takes around six months to obtain. That’s because court rules require gaps at two stages in the divorce process to give time for reflection. Those gaps can't be avoided. Two of the main divorce stressors are not the decision to start divorce proceedings but: Reaching an agreement on the parenting arrangements for your children Dividing your assets, reaching a financial settlement and obtaining a financial court order Our divorce solicitors can guide you through the no-fault divorce process. We can also help you reach a parenting agreement and financial settlement. It's important that the childcare arrangement is recorded in a parenting plan and your financial settlement gets converted into a binding financial court order. Reaching an agreement on parenting or your finances does not necessarily mean that you must apply to the court for a child arrangement order or ask the court to make a financial court order. Our North West family lawyers can help you through: Legal advice in between family mediation sessions Converting a memorandum of agreement negotiated during family mediation into a binding court order Helping you reach an agreement through our one-lawyer divorce service Assisting you resolve parenting or financial issues through family arbitration [related_posts] Divorce consultations You may be worried about the legal aspects of your divorce. Many people have questions about: Should they start the divorce proceedings or allow their spouse to do so? Can they stay in the family home after they start the divorce proceedings? Will the children have to be co-parented on a 50/50 basis and how will that work practically with jobs and other commitments? Will a 50/50 parenting arrangement affect child support? Will spousal maintenance be payable and for how long? Who will keep the family home? Will they be able to get a mortgage on their own so they can buy another house? Can they keep their inheritance, pension or business? Will the prenuptial agreement stop their ex-spouse from making any claims? If the children don’t want to see a parent, will the children be forced by the court into a 50/50 split of their time between both parents' homes? Will the children be able to continue in private education after the separation? Who will have to pay the school fees? Our specialist family lawyers can answer all your questions. We may not be able to answer them all at the first meeting as we may need more information about things, such as the transfer value of the pension or your potential earnings capacity if a situation where you are worried about whether you will be able to get a mortgage or rehouse yourself without spousal maintenance payments. Relationship breakdown initial review At Evolve Family Law, our experts understand that you want and need answers to your questions, including pressing questions about whether your ex will have to pay the mortgage if they leave the family home. We provide a relationship breakdown consultation for a fixed fee. This involves one meeting with a qualified lawyer regarding all legal and practical aspects of your separation and advice. If you decide that you would like us to start divorce proceedings on your behalf there is a separate divorce fixed fee. We also try to offer fixed-fee services for other legal services, such as converting your financial settlement into a binding financial court order or making a new Will after your separation. All our experienced family law solicitors are committed to helping you through your divorce proceedings and assisting you in reaching a parenting agreement and financial settlement as quickly as possible. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

When you split up from your husband or wife you need a financial settlement and a financial court order. A financial settlement can be negotiated or decided on by a judge if you cannot reach an agreement. Whether you reach a financial settlement by agreement or after issuing financial court proceedings it's essential to understand your financial settlement legal costs. In this blog, our North West family law solicitors explain financial settlement costs. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. How much should a divorce cost? Your no-fault divorce is normally an agreed fixed fee. Divorce solicitors can offer you a fixed fee divorce because there is a standard procedure to follow to help you secure your divorce. In addition to your no-fault divorce legal costs, you may have additional legal fees: Financial settlement Legal advice on living arrangements for your children Injunction costs if there has been domestic abuse in your relationship How much should a financial court order cost? It is impossible to offer everyone one fixed legal fee for a financial court order because there are so many variables, such as: Your ex-partner won't give financial disclosure Your former spouse is hiding assets Your ex won't sensibly negotiate If you can reach a financial settlement our divorce solicitors may be able to offer a fixed fee financial court order. If you can't agree on how assets are split our specialists will give you a cost quote for court representation based on what we know about the complexities of your family finances. What is a fixed fee financial court order? A fixed fee financial court order is when your financial settlement lawyer has agreed to obtain a financial court order for you at a fixed cost. That’s normally where you have reached a financial agreement through: Solicitor negotiations Family mediation Direct discussions Fixed fee financial court orders at Evolve Family Law At Evolve Family Law we offer three types of fixed fees for financial court orders. The financial court order fixed fees reflect the amount of work involved in securing your financial order: Tier 1 – an agreed financial settlement without complicated assets Tier 2 – an agreed financial court order with more complex assets, such as a pension share Tier 3 – bespoke fixed fee quote as your agreed financial settlement involves a trading family company or there are international assets Our divorce solicitors can explain the fixed fee for your financial court order so you know how much you will spend in total fixed fees for your no-fault divorce and agreed financial court order. Why can't I get a fixed fee for representation in financial proceedings to obtain a financial court order? If you haven’t been able to reach a financial settlement with your husband or wife then one of you may need to apply to court for a financial court order. Every financial application is different but normally there are three financial court hearings: First directions appointment Financial dispute resolution hearing Final hearing Some couples have extra financial court hearings, such as: Injunction application to stop your spouse from transferring or selling assets Interim spousal maintenance because temporary maintenance can't be agreed Extra financial disclosure hearing because your ex refuses to disclose all their assets Third-party involvement such as parents with a financial interest in the family home or the trustees of a discretionary trust [related_posts] Why don’t divorce solicitors offer fixed fees for representation in financial court proceedings? It's hard to offer a fair fixed fee for representation in non-agreed financial court proceedings because there are so many variables, such as: Time to investigate if assets are complex such as family businesses or discretionary trusts Time for final hearings as the final hearing could be a day or a week in length The amount of paperwork as the documents to check can run to hundreds or thousands of pages The need for experts such as pension actuaries, forensic accountants or barristers Fixed fees may not be fair to you when there are so many unknowns. For example: You and your ex may settle at the first court hearing Things may not be as complicated as they first appeared At Evolve Family Law we provide a financial settlement cost quote based on the information you give us. That quote is based on our hourly published charges. The fees can be broken down into stages and court dates. The fees can be reviewed as your financial court proceedings progress. For example, if you need to apply to court to enforce a financial court order. Understanding your divorce and financial settlement legal fees Our divorce solicitors believe it’s important to understand your legal fees. That way you can help keep them under control. Judges sometimes warn warring husbands and wives that they are at risk of spending too much on legal fees. In the recent case of LI v FT (Maintenance Pending Suit: Costs) [2024] EWFC 342 (B) (19 July 2024) the judge pleaded with a divorcing couple to rein in their legal spending before they ran out of money. This case is an extreme example as the couple had spent £40,000 in fees in a month and could not continue to afford that level of legal expenditure despite the husband's annual salary of £350,000 plus bonuses. The judge said every pound the couple spent fighting each other was a pound that would no longer be available for them and their children. That’s something important to remember as while you don’t want to be a push over you also don’t want your divorce solicitors to be the only winner in your battle to get a fair financial settlement. At Evolve Family Law our divorce solicitors welcome inquiries to discuss how we can help you secure an agreed financial court order or represent you in financial proceedings and to give you information about costs and timescales. For family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  

When you are looking for a Northwest divorce solicitor two of your questions may be the cost of a divorce and the divorce lawyer’s speed and ability to deliver on a promise of a quick divorce. In this blog, our divorce solicitors answer your questions on divorce costs. For expert divorce advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. How much does a quick divorce cost? At Evolve Family Law we believe in being upfront about our fees and publish our fixed fee costs on our website. We offer fixed fees for a range of family law services including a fixed-fee divorce service if you are the sole applicant for a divorce. The fixed fee divorce service is appropriate for most divorce applicants but won't be appropriate for your circumstances if your spouse intends to oppose the divorce or if you do not know where your spouse is living or if your spouse is living overseas. We welcome phone calls to discuss starting divorce proceedings and to offer information on the likely costs. For example, if you would like a quote to make a joint divorce application with your husband or wife or if your spouse lives overseas and you need a bespoke divorce quote. Most people benefit from an initial relationship breakdown consultation at a separate fixed fee so we can provide preliminary advice and advise on your best route. If you are trying to compare other fixed-fee divorce quotes you should check that those quotes include VAT and the divorce court fee. Our quotes do so to ensure you know the final figure. What does a fixed-fee divorce quote cover? A fixed-fee divorce quote covers: Advising you on the procedure for a no-fault divorce Preparing the divorce application and statement Applying to court and submitting the application and fee Corresponding with the court and your spouse Applying for your conditional order of divorce Applying for your final order of divorce The final order concludes the divorce proceedings. The fixed fee quote does not cover the situation where your spouse decides to defend your divorce application. This is very rare because, in no-fault divorce proceedings, a respondent can only defend a divorce on limited grounds. For example, a divorce can be defended if your spouse says you are not legally married to one another or if divorce proceedings have already been started in another country. A respondent to a divorce application can no longer oppose the application simply because they don’t want to get divorced. [related_posts] What isn’t included in a fixed-fee divorce quote? It's important to understand what isn’t included in a fixed-fee divorce quote so you can fully budget for your legal costs. The fixed-fee divorce quote covers the divorce application. It does not cover an initial consultation meeting to discuss matters such as: Whether you can get your husband or wife to leave the family home Whether your spouse will need to pay you spousal maintenance or child support until you can agree on a financial settlement Child care arrangements for your children including residence and contact Advice on potential financial settlement options Help with applying for a non-molestation order or occupation order We offer a relationship breakdown consultation initial review meeting for a fixed fee where we can discuss your preliminary legal questions about your separation and provide advice on your next steps. If you reach a financial agreement with your spouse, we also offer a fixed fee service to convert your agreement into a binding financial court order. Wherever possible we offer fixed-fee services. Where it is not possible to do so, we give you clear information about the hourly rate used by your divorce solicitor and provide information about the likely costs and timescales. Some people question why family law solicitors can't provide a fixed fee to obtain a child arrangement order or financial court order. That's because a child arrangement order application may involve one court hearing or ten hearings. A financial application may settle at the second court hearing (called a financial dispute resolution hearing) or a complex financial court application may result in a ten-day contested final hearing. For accurate cost information, it is always best to speak to our specialist family law solicitors as they will be able to give you an idea of costs and timescales if you need bespoke children law or divorce financial settlement advice. How long does a quick divorce take? Any divorce solicitor will take around six months to complete your divorce application and secure your final order of divorce. You may think that isn’t quick but the divorce timeframe isn’t down to your divorce lawyer. It takes around six months to get a no-fault divorce because the court imposes mandatory delays on you. Court rules say you must wait 20 weeks between stages one and two of your divorce and then there is a further six-week wait between your conditional and applying for your final order of divorce. Our divorce solicitors understand that the delays in the divorce process can be frustrating, especially when your spouse has agreed to a quick divorce. While we cannot shorten the mandatory delays, we can use the time to help you negotiate the parenting and contact arrangements and help you negotiate a financial settlement. If you reach a financial agreement, we can ask the court to make a financial consent order once you have got your conditional order of divorce. For friendly expert divorce advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

A Form E does not form part of the no-fault divorce proceedings process so Form E isn’t compulsory in divorce. However, if you or your spouse can't reach an agreed financial settlement and one of you applies to the court for a financial order, you will be ordered to complete a Form E. In this article, our North West family law solicitors look at when you need to complete a Form E and why. For expert family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. What is Form E? Form E is a standard court form that must be completed if you apply for or respond to a financial application made under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 – when you and your estranged or ex-spouse have not been able to reach a financial agreement. In the Form E, you must provide standard personal and financial information. Form E is intended to form the starting point for any further questions about your finances or plans. It will stand as the basis for your evidence if you have to go to a final hearing and give verbal evidence. As Form E is a crucial document in the financial court process it is important to get legal advice from a specialist family lawyer on how to complete it. Form E and unmarried relationships The Form E only needs to be completed if you are or were married or in a civil partnership – you don’t need to complete Form E if you or your ex-partner were in an unmarried relationship. Form E during or after divorce proceedings There is a common misunderstanding that Form E forms part of the divorce proceedings court process and that you need to fill it in to get a divorce. You don’t. You can get divorced without either you or your spouse applying to the court for a financial order. The judge does not have to make a financial order before they grant a conditional order of divorce or final order. However, most family law solicitors recommend that you don’t finalise your divorce proceedings until you take advice from a divorce lawyer on whether it is in your best interests to do so. For example, if you get divorced you will not be entitled to money from your spouse’s pension if they die before you. Without a financial court order in place, you won't be entitled to a share of your former spouse’s pension fund through a pension sharing order. That’s why you may want to sort out your divorce financial settlement before you apply for the final divorce order. If you are divorced or are in the process of getting divorced, and you decide to apply for a financial order, the court will process your financial application and make a standard direction and timetabling order. This will include a date for filing and exchanging Form E. Form E if you have reached a financial agreement If you have reached a financial agreement with your husband, wife or civil partner you won't need to file a Form E if you are asking the court to convert your agreement into a binding financial consent order. Instead, you will both need to complete Form D81. Form D81 is the abbreviated name for a statement of financial information. It is a couple of pages long compared to the 30-page Form E but you still need to disclose the value of all your assets. The judge won't approve an agreed financial consent order unless you are either mid-way through a financial application and have filed the long Form E or you complete Form D81. [related_posts] Form E if you are applying to vary an earlier financial court order If you are asking the court to vary a financial order you will still need to fill in Form E but you may not have to complete all of it. For example, if your application is to vary the amount of spousal maintenance or to extend the spousal maintenance term. Form E if you signed a prenuptial agreement If you signed a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement, you may question why you need to complete a Form E. You won't need to do so if you and your spouse are asking the family court to make an agreed financial court order in accordance with the terms in your prenuptial agreement. You will both need to complete Form D81. If you or your spouse think that the terms of the prenuptial agreement are unfair and one of you is asking the judge to ignore the contents of your prenuptial agreement you may need to complete a Form E. The person who wants to rely on the prenuptial agreement can ask for a preliminary hearing for the judge to rule on whether Form E completion is necessary and justified. Compulsory Form E Form E is compulsory in a financial application. The court will give a date for completion and exchange of Form E as part of the financial disclosure process. If Form E isn’t completed on time this can throw out the court timetable. If you are ordered to complete Form E it's best to speak to a family law solicitor quickly rather than leave it to shortly before the Form E filing deadline. If you have left it late, or you are beyond the court deadline, it's still best to get advice. A divorce solicitor may be able to get your spouse and their solicitor to extend the deadline and will be able to advise you on how to complete Form E and represent you in the court application. Many people resent the compulsory nature of Form E. They think it is intrusive or irrelevant. For example, if they were only married for 12 months or signed a prenuptial agreement. Others think that they can ignore parts of Form E. For example, not include a pension because it was started before the marriage or an inheritance because it was received after the separation. Others don’t realise that they need to complete Form E fully and the relevance of questions about health or their plans to cohabit with a new partner. A family lawyer can explain why all these Form E questions are relevant and why all assets must be disclosed even if you have a good argument to say that the value of some assets, such as a post-separation inheritance, should be ignored when the judge makes their financial court order using the argument that the asset is not a family or matrimonial asset and should therefore be ring-fenced. Voluntary completion of Form E Many separating couples voluntarily agree to exchange Form E during solicitor negotiations, family mediation, or if they agree to participate in family arbitration or a private financial dispute resolution hearing. In many scenarios, it makes sense to voluntarily fill in Form E as unless Form E are exchanged your spouse may think that you are trying to hide assets or they will say that they don’t have the information they need to reach a financial settlement. Whether you are filling in Form E on a voluntary or compulsory basis our specialist family law solicitors can help you complete Form E and advise you on your financial settlement options or we can convert your agreement into a binding financial court order. For expert family law advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

In this article, our family law solicitors answer your questions on what a mesher order is and explain how the order works. If you are splitting up from your husband or wife and need advice on reaching a divorce financial settlement or need your financial agreement converted into a court order our Northwest family lawyers can help. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. What is a mesher order?  A mesher order is one way a family judge can deal with a family home when a couple split up. Alternative orders include an order that the family home is sold or transferred into the sole name of the husband or wife. A mesher order is best described as an order for the deferred sale of the family home but family law solicitors call this type of order a ‘mesher’ as the order was first made in a case involving Mr and Mrs Mesher. When the property is sold the financial court order will set out how the equity in the property is to be shared between the former husband and wife. One ex-spouse may get a larger percentage than the other so they can rehouse themselves or an ex-spouse may get less than 50% of the equity because they kept their pension or the family savings at the time of the divorce proceedings.  How does a mesher order work? A mesher or deferred sale order works by delaying the sale of the family home until a specified date or trigger point occurs. Until the trigger point, one former spouse can live in the house to the exclusion of the other, even though both are still legal owners.  Normally a mesher order is made by the court when a couple has children and there is not enough equity in the family home for the property to be sold and the equity to be split so both the husband and wife can afford to buy new properties. A mesher may be necessary if one spouse cannot rehouse themselves because they have no or limited mortgage capacity and housing is a priority for them as they are caring for the children. A mesher order is normally only appropriate where the spouse staying in the family home cannot raise money through a mortgage to rehouse or remortgage to pay off the other spouse’s share of the equity in the family home and the spouse cannot get the mortgage company to agree to transfer the mortgage on the family home from joint names to their sole name. A mesher order maintains property ownership and financial links between a separated couple. Even if no spousal maintenance is payable, they continue to be financially linked through the joint mortgage. The mesher order can say who is responsible for the mortgage payments but if the payer defaults on the mortgage the credit rating of all those named on the mortgage will be affected. What are the trigger points for a mesher order? You can agree on the trigger points with your ex-spouse if you negotiate an agreed financial settlement or the court can decide on the triggers if it makes an order for a deferred sale after a court hearing. Some of the usual trigger points are:   The youngest child finishing their secondary education The re-marriage or cohabitation of the spouse living in the property with the children. Cohabitation is normally defined as living with an unmarried partner for a specified period, such as three or six months The children no longer living with the spouse who has the right to stay in the family home. For example, if the children are older teens and vote with their feet to live elsewhere or if the court makes a child arrangement order    The spouse who occupies the property leaving it. For example, because they decide to move elsewhere  The spouse who occupies the property passes away If you are negotiating a mesher order through solicitor negotiations or family mediation you can ensure that the trigger dates work for your family circumstances. [related_posts] Is a mesher order a good idea? A mesher has good and bad points. The good points are: The spouse living in the property has a secure home for the children and is not at risk of having to keep moving the children between different rental properties   Keeps the mortgage in situations where the mortgage is on favourable terms or neither spouse  would qualify for another mortgage  Means the ex-husband and ex-wife remain on the property ladder and they may both have enough to re-house once one of the triggering events occurs  Some of the negative things about mesher orders are: The spouse in occupation may feel unsettled knowing that they will have to sell the property when a trigger point occurs. This may make them reluctant to invest in improving the property knowing that their ex-partner will get a share of the equity The former spouses are financially linked to one another by having a joint mortgage. If the spouse in occupation does not pay the mortgage this will affect the credit rating of both spouses The spouse not living at the family home may not be able to get another mortgage while their name remains on the joint mortgage on the family home and they will not be able to use their share of the equity in the family home to use as a deposit to rehouse themselves  Family law solicitors emphasise the importance of taking specialist advice before agreeing to a mesher order so you can fully weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of a deferred sale. Applying for a mesher order If you and your former spouse agree that the children should stay in the family home then your family lawyer can draw up an agreed court order for approval by a family court judge. If you can't reach a financial settlement either of you can apply for a financial court order leaving the judge to decide if a mesher order is the most appropriate solution for your circumstances. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.