Financial Orders

Many people question why they need a financial court order. That’s because they assume that if they get divorced then their decree absolute of divorce finalises everything and there’s no need to get a financial court order as once you are divorced it is an automatic end to any financial ties with your former husband, wife or civil partner. Manchester divorce solicitors say that isn’t right and that a financial court order is essential to give you financial security and peace of mind. In this blog we answer your questions about financial court orders and why you need one after a separation or divorce or dissolution of your civil partnership. Does a divorce end financial ties between husband and wife? A divorce doesn’t end the financial ties between a husband and wife or between civil partners. The divorce or dissolution ends the legal relationship of marriage or civil partnership. However, there can be ongoing financial ties or the potential for one spouse or civil partner to start financial proceedings to make financial claims months or even years after the divorce or dissolution proceedings have been finalised through the pronouncement of your decree absolute. How can I stop financial ties with my ex-husband or wife? To stop financial ties with an ex-husband or wife you first of all need to look at what existing financial ties you have, such as: Is the family home still owned jointly? Is there a mortgage on the property? Could one spouse buy the other out and get the spouse released from the joint mortgage liability so that they can use their share of the equity and a mortgage to buy a new property? Are you waiting for the sale of a family home and still contributing towards the outgoings on the property until sale? Are you receiving or paying spousal maintenance? Do you own a family business and does your spouse or civil partner have a financial interest in the business or are they employed by the business? Are you retired and receiving some of your husband or wife's pension each month to support yourself?   There are many other examples of financial ties between a husband and wife or between civil partners. You may not appreciate the extent of your existing financial ties or the potential financial claims. That is why it is best to take legal advice, preferably before you separate but, if not, as soon as you are able to do so after you or your partner has taken the decision to go your separate ways. Will a prenuptial agreement stop financial ties if there is no court order? If you signed a prenuptial agreement or a postnuptial agreement it is important to let your divorce solicitor know because the agreement may limit financial ties between you and your husband, wife or civil partner. In the UK a prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement isn’t legally binding so it is best to take legal advice on your separation or divorce as you will still need a financial court order. That is the case whether or not you are both content with the financial terms set out in the prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement. Will the death of a former husband or wife end the financial ties? If your former husband, wife or civil partner passes away you may think that is the end to any financial ties but a surviving spouse or civil partner or a dependent former spouse or civil partner can bring a financial claim against the deceased spouse or civil partner’s estate if they can say that the Will or intestacy rules did not leave them with reasonable financial provision. That is why , if you are separating or divorcing, you not only need a financial court order to stop or limit any financial claims but you also need to review the provisions in your Will and take advice on how to avoid a claim against your estate. Does a separation agreement stop financial ties between a husband and wife? If you separate and decide that you don’t want to get divorced you may decide to sign a separation agreement to record how your financial affairs will be regulated. The separation agreement could provide for ongoing financial ties, for example, the payment of spousal maintenance or an agreement that the family home will stay in joint names and won't be sold until your youngest child is eighteen. Alternatively, the separation agreement could say that you both agree that there are no more financial ties between you and neither of you will make any future financial claims against the other.   Like a prenuptial agreement, a separation agreement isn’t a legally binding document and one of you could try to start a financial claim, despite the contents of the agreement or could ask for more provision than that detailed in the agreement. Depending on the circumstances in which the separation agreement was drawn up, the contents of the separation agreement may be heavily influential if one of you were to start financial court proceedings. However, divorce solicitors always recommend that the contents of a separation agreement are converted into a binding financial court order as soon as you are able to do this because a clean break financial court order will give you both financial security and peace of mind. Does a financial court order stop financial ties between an ex-husband and wife? A financial court order will either stop or regulate financial ties between an ex-husband and wife or between civil partners.   A financial court order that says that there are no existing financial ties between an ex-husband and wife and that neither one of you can bring any further financial proceedings against the other or their estate is called a clean break financial court order. This type of court order can either be made by agreement and approved by a family judge or made after a contested court hearing and a ruling by a family law judge.   In many family scenarios you may not be able to achieve a clean break immediately, for example, because you are waiting for the sale of a family home or the sale or transfer of shares in a family business or the implementation of a pension sharing order. However, the court can make what is known as a deferred clean break financial court order. That means once assets have been sold and other aspects of the court order complied with there is a clean break and spouses or civil partners can't bring any further financial claims. [related_posts] In some family situations it isn’t possible to end financial ties either immediately or in the long term. For example, in order to maintain a home for the children the family home may have to remain in joint names as you can't sell the property and the spouse looking after the children in the home can't get the mortgage company to transfer the existing mortgage into his or her name. You may only be able to sever financial ties when the family home is sold. Alternatively, if a former spouse or civil partner needs ongoing spousal maintenance for life you won't be able to stop income financial ties until the spouse or civil partner who is receiving the spousal maintenance remarries.   As it isn’t always financially possible to achieve a complete financial clean break and the end of financial ties between a husband and wife you should try to achieve as much financial security as you can by: A capital clean break – this stops claims for more cash or for the transfer of assets but leaves open ongoing claims for spousal maintenance A deferred income clean break – this gives an immediate capital clean break so a spouse can't ask for more cash such as money from the family home or for a bigger percentage of a pension but keeps open the income the financial ties until, for example, spousal maintenance payments stop. The court order could say that the spousal maintenance payments should stop after three years of maintenance payments with the clean break coming in automatically after three years because the court ruled that the spouse receiving the spousal maintenance should not be able to apply to extend the time spousal maintenance is paid for. Have I got a clean break financial court order? Divorce solicitors find that one of the most common reasons that people don’t understand their financial court order is that they don’t know if they have got an end to financial ties or not. A good divorce solicitor will spend the time with you so that you understand: The range of capital and income court orders that a family court can make either with the agreement of a husband and wife or after a contested court hearing The different types of clean break and end of financial ties that can be achieved Why a clean break may be very important in your particular financial and personal circumstances. For example, if you are a family business owner and you think that your business will significantly increase in value, you are the beneficiary of a discretionary trust, you anticipate receiving a substantial inheritance from a member of your family or you believe that your ex-husband or wife will squander their financial settlement and want to be able to ask for more from you The prospects of you achieving an immediate capital or income clean break financial court order if the judge had to make a ruling on whether to make a clean break financial court order. This information then enables you to try and negotiate and clean break with your former spouse and invite the court to make an agreed financial court order The risks associated with a clean break order. For example, if there is a contested court hearing your spouse after a long marriage may be likely to receive spousal maintenance for life. You could agree to give them a one-off cash lump sum instead of ongoing spousal maintenance to achieve your capital and income clean break. The risk to the payer is that spousal maintenance would not have to be paid if your former spouse remarried, predeceased you or if you lost your employment or business. The risk to the former spouse receiving the one off cash sum is that if the paying spouse’s income increased or business becomes more profitable they could have asked for an increase in the amount of spousal maintenance or for a bigger capitalised spousal maintenance figure. There isn’t often a right or wrong answer on whether or not to agree to a clean break as only you knows how valuable a clean break is in terms of having financial security. However, the important thing is that you are able to make an informed decision on what is best for you and your family. Manchester divorce and financial settlement solicitors Cheshire and Manchester based Evolve Family Law solicitors  specialise in resolving financial issues after a separation or divorce. For legal assistance with financial court orders or any other aspect of family law call Evolve Family Law  or complete our online enquiry form to set up an appointment, a video conference call or telephone appointment.

Whilst we are all living in unprecedented times and there are no certainties about when we will come out of the government imposed Covid-19 lockdown and know the full economic impact of coronavirus, questions are already being asked about whether the family court can be asked to change a financial court order because of the effect of Covid-19. In this blog we look at if you can ask a court to change your financial court order because of coronavirus.Online family law financial settlement solicitors Cheshire and Manchester based Evolve Family Law solicitors are working online to advise existing and new family law clients on all coronavirus related family law questions including financial issues arising from Covid 19. If you need advice on your financial court order or any other aspect of family law call Evolve Family Law on 0345 222 8 222 or complete our online enquiry form to set up a video conference or telephone appointment.Jump to: Can a financial court order be changed? Covid-19 and changing financial court orders What is a Barder event? Is Covid-19 a Barder event? Can a financial court order be changed? Many people think that once a financial court order has been made then ‘’that’s it’’ but some aspects of a financial court order can be changed by making a variation application. Examples of when you can apply to vary a financial court order include: Applying to stop spousal maintenance payments Applying to reduce or increase the amount of spousal maintenance payments Applying to extend the length of time that spousal maintenance payments are paid for Applying to discharge or vary a child support maintence requirement contained in a financial court order such as a child support court order for step-children, a top up child support order or a child support order for a disabled child Applying to end or vary a school fees order so that you are no longer required to pay school fees or the order is changed to vary the percentage amount of the school fees you are required to pay under the school fees order Asking the court to capitalise the spousal maintenance payments in the financial court order so instead of ongoing monthly spousal maintenance payment a lump sum is paid as a one off payment Applying to the court to change the mechanics for the sale of the family home if the financial court order included an order that the family home should be sold. Whilst the court won't normally change how much you should receive from the sale proceeds, the court can give directions about the sale price of the family home or say whether an offer should be accepted or say whether the choice of estate agent should be changed or to order that a family law judge can sign the legal paperwork to sell the family home if one owner refuses to do so.   These are the types of clauses contained in a financial court order that can usually be changed either by agreement with your ex-husband or ex-wife or through making an application to vary specific clauses in the financial court order.Covid-19 and changing financial court orders  Given the financial and economic impact of Covid-19 some people want to make more drastic changes to their financial court order and want to know if they can apply to change: An order to transfer the family home into the sole name of their ex-husband or ex-wife as their ex-spouse can no longer secure a mortgage to take over the mortgage liability so they want the family home sold instead An order that the amount of a lump sum payment is reduced to reflect the reduction in the value of the overall family assets because of the drop in the value of investments or in the value of a family business An order that on the sale of the family home the ex-husband or ex-wife will get a fixed amount from the equity in the family home and their ex-spouse will get the balance of the equity An order that one ex-spouse retains cash assets and the other retains more illiquid assets (such as a share portfolio or shares in a family business) that are now either difficult to sell or would have to be sold at a significant undervalue to the value given to the asset at the time that the financial court order was made.   There are many other examples of situations where one spouse now thinks that the financial court order, either made by agreement with their ex-spouse or after a contested court hearing, is now very unfair and prejudicial to them.   Court rules say that although you can apply to vary or change some parts of a financial court order (like the payment of spousal maintenance or the mechanics of the sale of the family home) you can't apply to the court to change the capital elements of the financial court order (such as the amount of a lump sum payment or whether assets should be split differently to that ordered by the court) unless you: Appeal against the financial court order – you can only do this if you can say that the family judge either got the facts or the law wrong. There are time limits in which to appeal against a financial court order Apply to change the financial court order because of a Barder event (including the capital elements of the financial court order). What is a Barder event? A ‘’Barder event’’ is when an unforeseen event invalidates the fundamental assumption on which a financial court order was based. You may therefore think that the family court will treat Covid 19 as a Barder event as none of us, politicians included, realised the significance of the flu like virus in Wuhan when news of the illness was first confirmed by the Chinese authorities on the 31 December 2019.   However for something to be deemed a ‘’Barder event’’ the family court has previously decided that: The event must have occurred after the making of the financial court order The event must invalidate the basis, or the fundamental assumption, on which the financial court order was made The event must have occurred within a short time of the making of the financial court order The application to change the financial court order has to be made reasonably promptly Permission to pursue a Barder case won't prejudice a third party who has bought or acquired an asset that is now the subject of the Barder court application.   The key to making a Barder application is to do it quickly. If you leave things to ‘’see how coronavirus pans out’’ then you may leave it too late to apply to court to change the capital elements of your financial court order. As timing of the Barder application is crucial it is best to take expert family law advice as quickly as possible.Is Covid-19 a Barder event? What amounts to a Barder event is determined by a judge using guidance issued in earlier court of appeal decisions.   In 2008, the court of appeal decided that the global financial crisis and stock market crash was not an unforeseen event because markets fall and rise. Other court cases have said that natural market fluctuations aren’t a Barder event. However, many would argue that a global pandemic, wiping billions off the value of the stock market, was neither natural nor foreseeable back in early December 2019. Whether the impact of Covid 19 on the value of a family business or on an investment portfolio is treated as a Barder event on is yet to be tested but much may depend on the particular personal and financial circumstances of your case and that is why it is best to get expert legal advice.Online family law and maintenance solicitors Cheshire and Manchester based Evolve Family Law solicitors are here to answer all your family law questions whether it is a coronavirus related family law question, child contact, help with leaving an abusive relationship or financial issues arising from coronavirus. If you need advice on aspect of family law call us on 0345 222 8 222 or complete our online enquiry form to set up a video conference or telephone appointment.Latest From Our Divorce Blog:

As a Manchester divorce and family finance solicitor I spend my days negotiating financial settlements or representing clients in divorce and financial court proceedings.   However, after many years of experience in family law, I appreciate that even after you have secured a financial court order it is not over until a husband or wife has received their divorce financial settlement. The high profile case of Farkhad and Tatiana Akhmedova really emphasises just how difficult it can be to enforce a court order and get the money after a divorce financial settlement. The case of Farkhad and Tatiana Akhmedova In 2016, an oil and gas tycoon, Mr Akhmedov, was ordered to pay about 40% of his wealth to his wife, Tatiana. The award by the high court in London was hailed as one of the biggest divorce settlements at the time that it was made .That is because the Russian billionaire had been told by a London judge to hand over about 453 million to his ex-wife. Roll on two years; Mr and Mrs Akhmedov have hit the headlines again. Mrs Akhmedov has finally received some of her divorce financial settlement. The path to her getting the money has been far from straightforward. Mr Akhmedov reportedly did not agree with the court decision, believing it to be wrong. That left Mrs Akhmedov with a financial court order that said she should get a 90 million-art collection, property in England worth 2.5 million, a £350,000 car and a 350 million cash payment. However, the reality was that she had little more than a piece of paper from the court that was only worth anything if it could be enforced. Applying for a freezing order after the settlement As Mr Akhmedov had not complied with the financial court order and handed over the cash and property in accordance with the financial court order Mrs Akhmedov applied for a freezing order. She then employed specialist asset tracers to try to locate and unravel ownership of assets to ensure that she got her financial settlement. Although the figures for Mr and Mrs Akhmedov are eye watering it is nonetheless the case that freezing orders have to be considered either during or after financial court proceedings. After all, there is little point in obtaining a financial court order if it cannot be enforced because the assets have disappeared through sale or transfer to third parties. Recovery of assets after the divorce settlement The asset tracers employed on behalf of Mrs Akhmedov have recovered a helicopter that was used to transport people to Mr Akhmedov’s yacht. It is reported that the sale of the helicopter has raised just under 5 million. The yacht is impounded in Dubai. There is ongoing legal argument over seizure of the 300 million super yacht and the recovery of other assets. Enforcing the court order You may wonder why Mr and Mrs Akhmedov are locked in such an expensive court battle. The rationale behind Mr Akhmedov’s objection to complying with the London financial court order is, at its simplest, that he does not believe the London high court had jurisdiction to make the financial court order for a variety of reasons. Furthermore, Mr Akhmedov maintains that the assets are held in trust or by companies and therefore the financial court order cannot be enforced against them. Enforcing court orders: getting the money after a divorce financial settlement You may question how the case of Mr and Mrs Akhmedov is of relevance to anyone other than Russian oligarchs. However, the principles of enforcing court orders and getting the money after a divorce financial settlement are just the same whether you are seeking to recover multi millions or thousands of pounds. [related_posts] Tips on enforcing court orders after a financial settlement In my experience when it comes to getting your money after a financial court order it is sensible to: Plan ahead : ideally you should take legal advice before you separate so that you know where you may stand financially ; Get a tenacious solicitor : you will need a solicitor who is proactive and a specialist family lawyer if you need to try and find assets during the financial court proceedings and recover assets after the financial court order has been made; Think about enforcement and recovery when negotiating the financial settlement: sometimes you want the holiday property in Barbados as part of your divorce settlement. It does however reap rewards if you think about how easy it will be to enforce the court order before you finalise the financial settlement; Take advice on injunctions to preserve assets: if you fear your spouse will deliberately sell or transfer assets to defeat your financial claims you can apply for what is known as a section 37-injunction order; Take care with the wording of the financial court order: make sure that the order is expertly drawn up to help with enforceability. For example , if the court order says the family home is to be sold anticipate issues and have clauses put in about how the sale price will be determined or what happens if you receive offers on the property and cannot agree on the sale price; Do not delay: if you have a financial court order and it has not been complied with in the court ordered timetable do not delay in enforcing the court order. Delay may be very prejudicial to you, for example if your spouse is at risk of bankruptcy or might leave the UK making it harder and more expensive to trace assets. It goes without saying that as well as needing a tenacious divorce and family finance solicitor you also need to be equally tenacious and patient. These are skills that Mrs Akhmedov has probably had to learn since her 2016 financial court order. For legal help with financial claims in divorce proceedings or enforcing financial court orders please Contact Us Now

Evolve divorce solicitors are delighted to announce that Evolve divorce solicitors have been asked to join a pilot scheme arranged by the Court service to lodge agreed Financial Court Orders online. All the divorce solicitors at Evolve Family Law think that it is great news that Evolve Family Law has been asked to participate in the Court led projects to file divorce petitions and now Financial Court Orders online. Why? Well online filing of Financial Court Order applications and all the supporting paperwork is a massive step forward for client service, something that the divorce solicitors at Evolve Family Law strive to improve by using the latest digital technology in a client friendly way to progress divorce documents as quickly and as efficiently as possible. That means that if a client is very techy, Evolve Family Law can contact them with secure online email and with paperwork for online approval. If clients aren’t technologically minded, our divorce solicitors are equally happy to meet clients and pick up the phone and chat. The inclusion of Evolve Family Law in the Court digital project is good news for all our divorce clients. Prior to being invited to join the Court’s latest online project Evolve divorce solicitors had to send Financial Court Orders to the Court by post. Assuming the post arrived at the correct Court department the Financial Court Order paperwork would then be sent to a judge to look at. Some weeks later, subject to the vagaries of the postal service, a reply might be received at Evolve divorce solicitors; either asking for additional documents, seeking further explanation or clarification of the husband's and wife's financial or personal circumstances or asking for the Financial Court Order to be drawn up and then sent back in the post to the Court for sealing and return to Evolve Family Law solicitors. At times the process of getting the Court to approve a financial document agreed upon by a husband and wife was painfully slow Why Does a Delay in Getting Your Financial Court Order matter? From the point of view of the divorce solicitors at Evolve Family Law it is a question of pride in our professionalism and client service. We all want clients to feel that they have had an efficient but personal service and when things go astray in the post or there are delays in receiving letters we believe it reflects badly on us. From a client’s point of view the delay in getting a Financial Court Order matters because: Until the Financial Court Order is approved by the Court and sealed by a Court official you can't apply to the Court to enforce all or part of the Financial Court Order if it isn’t complied with; If the Financial Court Order contains a pension sharing order the sealed Financial Court Order has to be sent to the pension administrator to implement the order before the pension can be shared; If the financial agreement included an agreement to sell or transfer property to a spouse it may be the case that the property sale or transfer can't go ahead until the Financial Court Order is received; Sometimes a husband or wife will refuse to apply for the Decree Absolute of divorce until the Financial Court Order has been sealed by the Court. So although the delay in getting a Financial Court Order can be a bit frustrating to some clients to other divorce clients the wait to send and receive the Financial Court Order through the post can cost them money as well as adding to the stress of the divorce proceedings. Online Financial Court Orders   In the 21st century, online production of Financial Court Orders must be a good thing for both divorce solicitors and clients. Evolve Family Law welcomes the opportunity to take part in the Court pilot project for the filing of online Financial Court Orders. We hope that the pilot project will establish that use of technology, combined with a personal legal service from caring and committed divorce solicitors, is the right way forward for divorcees. How much does a Financial Court Order cost? If you have reached a financial agreement with your husband or wife over how you want to split your assets and you want the security of a Financial Court Order then the cost of obtaining a straightforward Financial Court Order is £866. There are no hidden extras – that amount includes VAT and the Court fee. If your finances are more complex and you need your Financial Court Order to cover pension sharing and / or spousal maintenance then the fixed costs are higher or, if you can't reach a financial agreement with your husband or wife Evolve divorce solicitors can give you a bespoke quote for representation in Court proceedings. Contact our team today for more information

Pilot faces a £600,000 payment and a freezing order after losing his Court battle over the enforcement of a family Court order. Whenever a divorcing couple end up in Court with a family judge making the decision on how their assets should be divided or how much spousal maintenance and child support should be paid there is always a risk that either the husband or wife or both of them may be very unhappy with the outcome of the Court proceedings and their Court Order. The dissatisfaction with a family Court judgement and financial order can lead to appeals against the decision or to orders being deliberately flouted in the hope that an ex-husband or wife won't want to launch further Court proceedings to enforce the original financial Court order. Sometimes financial Court proceedings can take on a life of their own. The media has recently highlighted the case of Richard Wilmot and his ex-wife Viki Maughan who have been engaged in a 16 year battle over payment of child support, with paternity of the youngest child being in dispute despite DNA testing. The Court has ruled that just shy of £600,000 should be paid to the ex-wife, consisting of child support arrears and legal costs. Importantly the Court has also made a freezing order freezing property, money in bank accounts as well as pension and insurance monies. The Court decision to freeze assets shows just how far family judges are prepared to go to make sure that Court orders are complied with. A read of the Court judgement emphasises just how exasperated the judge was by the ‘’utter folly’’ of the ex-husband’s actions resulting in him being ordered to pay nearly £600,000 when the child support arrears only amounted to about £115,000 with the rest of the monies being legal costs and the costs of specialists employed by the ex-wife to trace and recover the money. The case highlights the financial and emotional costs of engaging in a long drawn out Court battle but, perhaps more importantly, shows the long arm of the law, in this case over a 16 year period to enforce the payment of child support . [related_posts] In my view this unhappy Court saga reveals why it is so vital to try and reach an out of Court financial settlement that both an ex-husband and ex-wife can live with to avoid enforcement Court litigation and costs. That isn’t always possible. If a financial Court order has to be made by a judge it is important to take legal advice on appeal options and, if necessary, enforcement options to avoid the costs of the Court proceedings getting out of hand and ultimately, as in the case of Mr Wilmot, dwarfing the amount in dispute between husband and wife. If you need help with the terms of a financial settlement or a Court order please contact us.

When I read that an 83 year old had been jailed for 14 months I assumed that he had been sent to prison for a very serious criminal offence. Reading on I learnt that the businessman had been incarcerated for breaching a family financial Court order. The case of Mr and Mrs Hart highlights that family law judges do have the power to enforce financial Court orders although it remains very rare for a family Court to jail a husband or wife for contempt of Court. What led to the incarceration? In 2015 Mr and Hart got divorced and Mr Hart was ordered to pay his ex-wife 3.5 million of the couple’s reported assets of 9 million. The Court order involved the transfer of shares in a property company from the ex-husband to his ex-wife. Mrs Hart complained that her ex-husband had breached the financial Court order and she wasn’t able, as a result of Mr Hart’s actions, to run the property company. Those difficulties led to an application by Mrs Hart for Mr Hart’s committal to prison for contempt of Court. When sentencing Mr Hart to custody the judge highlighted the attempts made by Mrs Hart and her lawyers to avoid pursuing the committal application but ultimately, in the judge’s view, there was no option other than a prison sentence to ensure the original financial Court order would be complied with. Can all financial Court orders be enforced? A lot depends on the precise wording of the Court order. That is why, in my opinion it is vital to make sure that Court orders are written in a way that if either a husband or wife doesn’t comply with what they were ordered to do that the Court order can be enforced. In some situations it is important to anticipate difficulties and to therefore make sure that the family finance Court order gives a tight deadline for the transfer of property, or sets out exactly how a family home will be sold (for example recording the mechanism for agreeing the sale price and the choice of estate agent) and, where possible, providing for the sale of an asset if a transfer of property doesn’t take place by the Court imposed date. The other important thing to bear in mind is to try and keep financial Court orders as straightforward as possible, subject to the nature of the family assets. Sometimes an ex-husband and wife want to continue to co-own a property or a company together after a divorce but that type of financial settlement, even if incorporated into a Court order, can lead to difficulties and enforcement applications. That is why if there is a simple financial solution the family Courts often prefer that type of Court order to achieve closure and avoid the cost of bringing enforcement action. [related_posts] Can financial orders be varied? If a family judge has made a final financial order then normally most aspects of the order can't be changed save for the amount of any spousal maintenance. However depending on the precise wording of the order the Court could be asked to extend time to make a payment or to change how a property is sold. That is why it is important to get specialist legal advice when sorting out a financial agreement so that both an ex-husband and ex-wife know where they stand if they want to vary the financial Court order or they need the order to be enforced.   For advice on enforcing family financial Court orders or to discuss divorce financial settlement options please contact us.

International families are becoming increasingly common as the world reopens to travel after the global pandemic. Nowadays it isn’t uncommon for a couple to get divorced in a country where they are living and for a husband or wife to then want to see if they can get a divorce financial settlement in England. In this article, international family lawyer and divorce financial settlement solicitor, Robin Charrot, looks at when you can get a divorce financial settlement in England where you got divorced overseas. For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Financial settlement claims after an overseas divorce Even if you got divorced abroad you may be able to ask the court in England for a financial settlement as part of your divorce. This may be the case whether you got a foreign financial court order or you got no divorce financial settlement overseas. The law on divorce financial settlements and foreign divorces The law on divorce financial settlements after foreign divorces is contained in part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984. The law allows some people to bring a financial  claim in England even though their divorce took place overseas. The law is designed to protect spouses whose partners have rushed to start divorce proceedings in a country where they know that their husband or wife will get a reduced financial settlement in comparison to what an English court would order. Can I apply for a divorce financial settlement after my overseas divorce? You can only apply for a divorce financial settlement in the UK if you got divorced abroad and the foreign divorce court either made no financial court order or it was not sufficient. In addition, you must satisfy these three eligibility criteria: You have sufficient connection to England Your divorce is valid legally You have not remarried If you satisfy these three eligibility criteria you need to make a court application for permission to pursue an application under the 1984 Act. [related_posts] Sufficient connection to England Sufficient connection to England is the eligibility criteria that raises most questions and where disputes over an application under part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 tend to focus. Sufficient connection with England can be demonstrated by one of: You or your ex was domiciled in England at the time of the overseas divorce or at the time of the application You or your ex was habitually resident in England for 12 months before the date on which the overseas divorce was finalised or for 12 months before the date of the application You or your ex has an interest in a property in England that was the family home or matrimonial home. You do not need to be the legal owner of the property to make a claim but if court jurisdiction is based solely on the existence of an interest in property your claim is limited to the value of the property Domicile and habitual residence are complex legal concepts and whether you are domiciled or habitually resident in England will depend on your circumstances. For advice on jurisdiction to bring a claim after an overseas divorce call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. How does the English court decide on a divorce financial settlement after an overseas divorce? The English court has discretion to make a financial settlement once you have leave to make your application. To succeed in your application, you need to be able to show that you tried to get reasonable financial provision in the foreign country and you either received no divorce financial settlement or the award was unreasonable. The court can order the transfer or sale of property, a lump sum payment, spousal maintenance or a pension sharing order. Sometimes when a couple have agreed a divorce financial settlement overseas, they need a UK pension sharing order to implement the pension share of an English pension scheme and this can be achieved using the 1984 Act. Foreign divorces and divorce financial settlement claims are not easy and that is why you need specialist legal advice from a family law solicitor with expertise in international family law. For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.