Financial Settlement

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.

Our family law solicitors are asked if it is possible to divorce your wife and keep everything. In this blog, we explain your options if you want to keep all the assets after your separation. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Can a husband divorce his wife and keep everything?  It is technically possible for a husband to divorce his wife and keep everything but most divorce solicitors will tell you that it is an unlikely outcome in financial settlement negotiations or financial court proceedings unless your circumstances are unusual. If you are a husband your best bet to keep all your assets after a separation or divorce is to sign a prenuptial agreement before your marriage or a postnuptial agreement after your marriage. Even if a wife has signed a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement the document is not legally binding on a spouse under English law. The agreement will carry weight provided both husband and wife took independent legal advice on the contents of the agreement and there was no coercion to sign the document and completion of the paperwork only took place after husband and wife disclosed their assets. If these safeguards were not put in place the court may disregard the terms of the prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. Even if you ticked all these safeguarding boxes, the court may conclude that if the wife gets nothing, as you are keeping everything, the outcome is unfair because the wife’s needs are not being met. The court may therefore disregard the terms of the agreement. A prenuptial agreement solicitor will normally recommend that your prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement does not allow you to keep everything as it is better to have an agreement that works and therefore one that gives your wife a modest financial settlement that meets her financial needs rather than sign a prenup that says you will get to keep everything if you divorce but the prenup then doesn’t work in practice if you split up from your wife. [related_posts] If my wife agrees that I will keep everything, can I get a financial court order? The court can be asked to make an agreed financial consent order. The agreed order is lodged by your divorce solicitor after your conditional order of divorce has been pronounced. The order must be accompanied by a standard court form (called a statement of financial information) summarising the details of your marriage and your personal and financial circumstances. If this prescribed form is not completed the court will not approve your financial court order. If, for any reason, the figures provided in the form are wrong (for example you say your company shares in a family business are worth £10,000 rather than a more realistic 1 million) your wife will be able to reopen her financial claim at a later date because of inaccurate financial disclosure that led to the financial court order being made. Your ex-wife could ask the court to make another financial court order giving her a reasonable share of the assets. Therefore, inaccurately valuing assets on the form does not give you the financial security you need. If the shares in your family business continue to increase in value, then by the date of your wife's further financial settlement application, your company shares could be worth 10 million.  Providing inaccurate information in the court paperwork could cost you a lot of money if your ex-wife is advised to reopen her financial claims. If you complete the prescribed form to accompany your application for an agreed financial court order and include accurate asset figures, and the document shows you will be keeping everything and your wife will be getting nothing, the judge may refuse to make the agreed order. The judge may ask questions in an email or letter to your divorce solicitors or may invite you and your wife and your family lawyers to a court hearing so the judge can understand the rationale behind the making of the financial court order.  You may think that the answer to keeping everything lies in making a deal with your wife that she doesn’t get anything but neither of you ask the court to make a financial court order. However, you then run the risk of your ex-wife deciding to apply for a financial court order at a later date and asking for money or property or a share of your pension. This could work against you if your property or other assets have gone up in value from the date you agreed with your wife that she would walk away with nothing whilst you keep everything. What should you do if you want to keep everything after your divorce?  If you want to leave your wife with nothing the best option is to talk to a family law solicitor about whether you can achieve this and how to do so. Your family lawyer may tell you that it will be an uphill task and that you may be better off focussing on a lowball offer that meets your wife's reasonable needs but is pitched at a level where you can get a clean break financial court order from the family court.  A clean break court order means your wife can't come back later on and ask for more spousal maintenance or a share of your pension or equity in your house. That’s why it’s crucial to secure a court order to give you future financial security so you can plan for your future and not have concerns that your wife years later could come back and ask for money because she had nothing at the time of your separation. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  

Do you need help with your divorce or in sorting out a financial settlement or child residence and contact arrangements for your children? In an ideal world, you would reach an agreement with your ex but that may not be possible if they are being unreasonable. Our family law solicitors offer some tips on how to handle an unreasonable ex in a divorce. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.  Divorce proceedings and unreasonable behaviour  You used to have to say that an ex had behaved unreasonably to help you secure a divorce. That is no longer necessary as the government has introduced no-fault divorce proceedings so all you now need to say is that your marriage has broken down irretrievably without needing to explain why.  Although you no longer need to prove unreasonable behaviour to get a divorce the issue of an ex behaving unreasonably is still highly relevant. [related_posts] Is your ex behaving unreasonably? It is worth asking yourself if your ex is behaving unreasonably as sometimes you can lose perspective. That may be because you have been subject to so much emotional abuse during your relationship that you think that your ex’s behaviour is normal rather than coercive and controlling. Alternatively, you may want to stay in the family home and can't see your ex’s point of view that if you don’t sell the property and split the equity, they won't be able to afford anywhere to live or their argument that it would therefore be reasonable for you to downsize. A family law solicitor can help you look at whether your ex’s behaviour is acceptable or not. If your ex has a reasonable case to put forward then there should be some prospect of your being able to reach a parenting agreement or financial settlement through solicitor negotiation or family mediation. Saying what behaviour is unreasonable or not is always difficult as so much depends on context. A spouse leaving the family home and disappearing without explanation and not sorting out child contact seems unreasonable but may be wholly justified if the spouse is fleeing domestic violence and needs to get themselves and the children to a place of safety and secure an injunction order before they can even consider if contact can be managed safely. Examples of unreasonable behaviour by an ex Our family law solicitors come across many examples of unreasonable behaviour when assisting with divorce, children law or financial settlement negotiations or proceedings, such as: Complete refusal to provide financial disclosure so your only option is to start financial proceedings and get orders for financial disclosure because you can't reach a fair financial settlement unless you know the extent of your ex’s assets and income An ex-partner transferring assets to their parents or siblings to try and keep the assets out of the financial settlement  Refusing to agree to any contact with the children without any good grounds to stop or restrict contact and when the children are keen to see you with your ex knowing that it will take you a while to get a child arrangement order  Refusing to return the acknowledgement form in no-fault divorce proceedings – you can still get divorced but it takes a bit longer After the court has made an order for the sale of the family home refusing to agree to viewings or being unwilling to listen to advice from the estate agent about the sale price. You can still get the family home sold but you may need to apply back to court for another order to implement the sale and to ask the court to order that your ex pays the extra costs associated with that hearing Tips on dealing with an unreasonable ex during your divorce The first advice on dealing with an unreasonable ex is to privately acknowledge to yourself that your ex’s unreasonable behaviour just confirms that separation and divorce are the right options for you.  Our other tips are: Take advice and don’t accept unreasonable behaviour by your ex as ‘just your ex’ and how they behave Get your family law solicitor to write to your ex and explain the consequences of their behaviour. For example, transferring assets to third parties will result in a freezing injunction order application and you asking the court to order that your ex pays the costs of the injunction application and make adverse inferences in the financial settlement proceedings about his actions and financial nondisclosure   Make sure you get the support you need. That could be from family, friends or a counsellor   Take a long-term view on dealing with your ex as their game plan may be to behave so badly that you are deterred from applying for a child arrangement order as you think it will be pointless or to make you think that you may as well accept the financial settlement they are offering as the ex is being so difficult about financial disclosure  Think about your children- if you cannot battle on for yourself then we recommend that you do so for your children as they will be the ones affected by the parenting arrangements or by an unfair financial settlement that means you can't support them in the way you should have been able to do so    At some point, you will either need to reach an agreement or secure a court order but your ex’s unreasonable behaviour should not dictate the agreement or orders made. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. 

Most people realise that there are often no winners in a family law dispute. That is why it is so important to try to reach an agreement when you separate or divorce. In this blog, our family law solicitors outline the changes to the Family Procedure Rules (FPR) and explain how the rule change may affect whether you make an application to the court to resolve your family law dispute or choose a non-court based option to help you reach an agreement. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. The Family Procedure Rules  The Family Procedure Rules (FPR) set out the rules relating to making a family law court application. They must be followed by family law solicitors and barristers as well as litigants in person, professional experts, CAFCASS officers and the family law judge. On 29 April 2024, the FPR was changed. The reason for the change was to encourage non-court dispute resolution to reach a family law agreement over your financial settlement or child custody or contact dispute. The FPRs already required the applicant and respondent to most family law court applications to try family mediation before they went to court and asked the judge to resolve their family law dispute. There were a limited number of exceptions when you did not need to try family mediation before you made a family law court application. Those exceptions have been narrowed and reduced. The other major change to the rules is an emphasis on other non-court dispute resolution options, rather than just requiring most couples to try family mediation. Non-court dispute resolution options Whilst most people have heard about family mediation there are several other non-court dispute resolution options. They include: Family arbitration Collaborative law Private judge or financial dispute resolution hearing One lawyer divorce service A family law solicitor will go through each of these options with you to work out which one would suit you best and help you reach an agreement. Once an agreement is reached your lawyers can help you convert it into a binding court order from a family law judge. It is worth discussing your options with a family law solicitor as you may have ruled out family mediation or an alternative option. A family law solicitor can arrange family law mediation sessions where you are not in the same room as your ex-partner if there are concerns about this. Alternatively, if you do not want to negotiate in family mediation you may find that solicitor-involved family mediation works for you. If that does not suit you then using a one lawyer divorce service or a private judge may be your best option. Some might rule out using a private judge as being too expensive but it can be a cheaper and quicker option than court. Our family law solicitors will highlight the advantages and the disadvantages of the various non-court options so you can make an informed decision. [related_posts]  The Family Procedure Rule changes on non-court options   Couples in family law disputes now need to set out their views on the use of non-court dispute resolution options with a signed statement of truth. The statement is intended to highlight the importance of considering the non-court options. There may be implications if you decide not to engage in any non-court dispute resolution and you do so without good reason. For example: A judge could adjourn your family law application for non-court dispute resolution to be tried A judge could order that you pay some of your ex-spouse’s legal costs associated with the financial settlement court hearing because you refused to engage in any non-court based dispute resolution and the judge thinks money was wasted by taking it to court or a final hearing There are several reasons why applying to court and not using any non-court dispute resolution first is a sensible approach. For example: You need an injunction order to protect you from domestic abuse You fear your ex-partner is going to take your children overseas without your agreement Your spouse is transferring assets or money to other people and if you wait to bring a financial court application the money may have disappeared and your financial settlement claim will have been defeated by your spouse’s underhand behaviour Your ex-spouse is refusing to give you any financial disclosure so you cannot reach a fair financial settlement using any non-court resolution option as you do not know the extent of their assets Our family law solicitors can discuss the reasons why you think a court application should be started rather than look at a dispute resolution option so we can help you work out the best solution for you. The Evolve Family Law one lawyer divorce service Our one lawyer divorce service may be suitable for you and your ex-partner and this is one of the options we can explore with you. With this service, one divorce lawyer advises you and your former partner and prepares all necessary legal documents on behalf of you both in your divorce and financial settlement. The benefits of one lawyer divorce are that it can save time and money but it is not the right format for every couple. For example, if there is a power imbalance and you would prefer to have your own lawyer then collaborative law or arbitration might be a better fit for one of you. Next steps We offer a fixed fee initial consultation in which we can discuss all legal and practical aspects of your separation and assess the best non-court dispute resolution option is the best route for you to take. For expert advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

When you are contemplating a divorce, you want to know what a wife is entitled to in a divorce settlement. In this blog, our divorce solicitors answer your questions on divorce financial settlements and entitlements. For expert family law advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form. A wife’s entitlement to a divorce settlement After no-fault divorce proceedings are started a husband or wife can start financial proceedings in the family court for a financial court order to provide them with a divorce settlement. The divorce court has the power to make a range of financial court orders, including: Spousal maintenance Payment of a lump sum Sale of the family home and division of the equity in it Transfer of the family home from joint names or one spouse’s sole name to the other spouse Sale or transfer of investments Sale or transfer of shares in a family business Pension sharing In limited circumstances, the court can also make child support orders, such as top-up child support or payment of school fees. In every application for a financial court order, the court has the power to make all or some of these orders in favour of either a husband or wife. The court decision isn’t based on gender but on a range of statutory factors. These are referred to as the section 25 criteria by divorce solicitors. What will a wife get as a divorce settlement? What a wife will get as a divorce settlement depends on the section 25 factors. In the UK there is no statutory formula to say that the wife gets the family home or the husband keeps his pension or business. Instead, divorce solicitors have to look at all the circumstances and the section 25 criteria. If a couple has dependent children, then the divorce settlement will be shaped by the children’s needs. That’s because section 25 factors say that the court’s first concern should be the welfare of those dependent children and how their needs will be met. If the children will continue to live with the wife, then the children and wife will need a house to live in and enough income either via the wife’s salary or child support or spousal maintenance (or a combination of the three) to pay the outgoings on their family home and other reasonable expenditure. The section 25 criteria The section 25 criteria are: The income, earning capacity, property, and other financial resources that each of the parties to the marriage has, or is likely to have in the foreseeable future. This includes in the case of earning capacity, any increase in that capacity which it would, in the opinion of the court, be reasonable to expect a party to the marriage to take steps to acquire The financial needs, obligations, and responsibilities that each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future The standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage The age of each party to the marriage and the duration of the marriage Any physical or mental disability of either the husband or wife 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 by looking after the home or caring for the family 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 each of the parties to the marriage of any benefit (for example, a pension) which, by reason of the end of the marriage, that party will lose the chance of acquiring [related_posts] Applying the section 25 criteria to work out the divorce settlement A divorce solicitor is experienced in advising on how the section 25 criteria may apply to your circumstances and explaining about the range of likely orders. That expert advice can then help you reach an agreed divorce settlement either through solicitor negotiations or in family mediation. The divorce solicitor can then help you convert your agreement into a binding financial court order. Without knowing about your financial and personal circumstances a divorce solicitor can't advise you on the likely range of orders as the background information is crucial to the outcome of the divorce settlement. The information will involve financial disclosure as, for example, you will need to know the value of the family business or if there is a trust fund or an additional pension. If a spouse is not willing to give financial disclosure voluntarily it may be necessary to apply to the court for a financial court order as the family court can make disclosure orders as part of the financial application process. The divorce settlement process Our divorce solicitors understand that it is frustrating when a divorce solicitor will not give you what you think should be a straight answer to your question about what a wife will get as their divorce entitlement. That’s because the answer varies on the information you give us about your family circumstances. For example, a wife who has been married 20 years may be entitled to half of all the assets (sometimes over 50%) but a wife married for 12 months, and who signed a prenuptial agreement before her marriage, may end up with a very modest divorce settlement. The first step in sorting out a divorce settlement is speaking to a specialist divorce solicitor to understand the information they need and how it applies to your situation. For expert family law advice call our team for an appointment or complete our online enquiry form.

As family law solicitors we are often asked whether it is OK to change the locks to the family home. Sometimes we are asked this question before a husband, wife, civil partner or unmarried partner has decided to separate. On other occasions, the locks have already been changed and an ex-partner has already been excluded from what was their family home. For expert advice on family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Separation and changing the locks Locks are a hot topic as emotions, trust, and control issues can all be engaged when the subject of locks and access to the family home is mentioned. A lot of people assume that if the locks to the family home are changed that means the excluded spouse, civil partner, or cohabitee loses their legal rights or financial claims over the property. That assumption isn’t correct. A change of locks does not confer ownership of a property on the spouse or partner who now controls access to the property. Your property rights will depend on your legal status – whether you are a spouse or civil partner or whether you were in an unmarried relationship. For spouses and civil partners, property rights stem from family law. For unmarried couples, their family home rights stem from an interpretation of property and trust law. If you cannot agree with your partner on whether a house should be sold, or transferred to you or your ex-partner, then the court can decide on the appropriate order. In urgent cases involving domestic violence or abuse, the court can make a temporary injunction order to exclude a partner from the property. The court can then decide on long-term property ownership at a later date. Changing the locks if you own the property Some people assume that if they own the family home in their sole name, they can change the locks and exclude a spouse. That is not right. A spouse has a right of occupation in a family home, whether the property is owned in joint names or not. Whether or not the locks have been changed any financial claims to the house continue until there is an agreement or a family court order. Another common assumption is that it is OK to change locks once a spouse has left the family home as once the decision to leave has been made by them then they cannot change their mind and come back. That is not correct either. In some situations, a homeowner may ask their family law solicitor about changing locks as they want to feel in control of a property. In other cases, there are genuine worries either over privacy or personal security. If it is accepted that one spouse should leave the property then it is usual to agree that, whether they retain the key or not, they will only return at an agreed time and for a reason. For example, to collect remaining items. If there are concerns about personal safety and domestic violence the court can make an injunction order setting out who can occupy a family home until a long-term decision is made on whether or not the house should be sold or transferred to one spouse or partner. [related_posts] Changing the locks when you have children Where there are children there is often an argument that a spouse or partner should retain a key so that they can come and go to see the children. Whether that works all depends on how a couple has managed their separation. In some scenarios, both adults and children are comfortable with mum or dad returning to put children to bed with a book or to babysit but, in other families, continued key access can give very mixed messages to both adults and children and cause anxiety. It is important to talk to a family law solicitor about property ownership and locks and to reach an agreement on whether locks are changed or not. You may need to discuss whether you or your ex-partner can get access to the property until the financial settlement is reached. Locks and reaching an agreement over the family home The hot topic of locks should not distract from what is often the equally emotional but trickier issue of sorting out what will happen long-term with the family home. The obtaining of estate agent appraisals and exploration of mortgage options enables a separated couple to make well-informed decisions about what they want to happen to the family home on a long-term basis. Those decisions can be made by the couple with the help of their family law solicitor or during family mediation. If an agreement cannot be reached then whether you are a spouse, civil partner, or former cohabitee, the family court can be asked to sort out who is entitled to enter the property and live in it on a short and long-term basis. What is important to realise is that changing the locks to a family home does not confer property ownership as that is all down to agreement or the court order. For expert advice on family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.

Applying for a Financial Court Order when you Have Reached a Divorce Financial Agreement If you have reached an agreement with your ex-husband or your ex-wife about how your assets will be split after your divorce you may question if you need a financial court order. A divorce solicitor will tell you that a court order is necessary and explain what could happen if you don’t obtain an order. For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Why you need a financial court order If you have reached a divorce financial settlement by agreement, you still need a financial court order. There are several reasons why you need an order: It gives you financial security – if your ex-partner changes their mind and wants more than you originally agreed upon you can rely on the court order to prevent additional claims for cash. For example, your ex may say the original agreement was unfair because the value of your business has gone up more than the equity in the family home or that they need more because they did not get a share of your pension when they negotiated the financial deal You can enforce a court order – you may think that your ex-spouse won't breach your agreement but, for example, if you agreed that the family home would be sold, they may be reluctant to sell the property if it means they have to downsize. A court order can include the mechanics for the sale and if a spouse is resistant to a sale the court can order that a judge has the authority to sign the transfer documents. You may think it unlikely that you will need to enforce an order but situations change, such as your ex-spouse or you meeting a new partner, and that altering the dynamics Pensions – if your financial agreement includes pension sharing the pension administrator is not allowed to implement your agreement until they have a financial court order, pension sharing annex, and the final order of divorce   Third parties – you may need a financial court order where third parties are involved. For example, if one of you is at potential risk of bankruptcy with the involvement of a trustee in bankruptcy. For example, if a mortgage company will only transfer the mortgage into your ex-spouse’s sole name if the transfer is made under a court order or if there is a spousal maintenance order so your ex-spouse can persuade the mortgage company that they have enough income to be able to take the mortgage over on their own Clean break – some financial agreements include a clean break to stop any future financial claims by you or your ex-spouse. If you have negotiated a clean break, it is important to have the security of a binding financial court order that endorses and confirms the clean break [related_posts] Applying for a financial court order If you have reached a financial agreement through direct discussion, solicitor negotiations, or family mediation there is normally no need to go to a court hearing to get your financial court order. Your divorce solicitor can send the paperwork to the court for approval and, in the vast majority of cases, a judge will agree to make the financial court order with no alterations to the draft order or only minor ‘drafting tweaks’. Broken down into stages, to obtain a financial court order you have to: Check there is an agreement that is capable of being made into a financial court order – if you negotiated your agreement direct then your divorce solicitor can check your agreement for you Check if the court can make a financial court order – the court can only make a financial court order once you have obtained a conditional order of divorce. If you got divorced some time ago and have a decree nisi of divorce the court can still make a financial court order Check if any relevant third parties are OK with the agreement. For example, the mortgage company if a house and mortgage are going to be transferred into one spouse’s name or a pension administrator if a pension sharing order is being requested Draw up the draft financial court order and exchange it with your ex-spouse’s solicitor and make any changes needed Swap statements of financial information summarising your assets and income. These statements are filed in court with your draft financial court order. The court will not approve a financial court order unless these statements are prepared and filed Send the draft financial court order to any relevant third parties. For example, to a pension administrator for their approval of the wording of the pension sharing order Ask the court to approve the financial court order by sending the court the required paperwork and court fee. In the vast majority of cases, the judge will make the financial court order requested if the order has been properly prepared and the statement of financial information explains why the court order has been agreed upon Answer any questions the court may have on the proposed financial court order Once the sealed financial court order is received from the court send it to any relevant third parties. For example, the pension administrator, financial advisor, or property solicitor if the financial court order includes pension sharing, investment transfers, or the transfer of property Finalise the divorce proceedings as without the final order of divorce the financial court order cannot be enforced Diary up. If the financial court order includes spousal maintenance your divorce solicitor should check and diary up review dates for increases in line with retail price index rises or end dates and make sure everything in the court order has been sorted out, such as the implementation of a pension sharing order, the taking out of life insurance or changes to a pension nomination That list may look exhausting but the job of a divorce solicitor is to convert agreements into financial court orders. At Evolve Family Law we recognise that if you have reached a financial agreement, you do not want to hang around whilst divorce solicitors get out their fountain pens to prepare financial court paperwork and then post it back and forth between spouses and solicitors. Evolve uses technology to standardise and speed up the process of drafting family court orders, and as importantly, to make the obtaining of a financial court order more cost-effective and value for money for you. It is the combination of experience and technology that means Evolve Family Law can offer transparent pricing and fixed fees for financial court orders. We are proud to say that we are one of the first law firms in the country to publish our fees online in a handy user-friendly guide without hidden extras as the quoted fees include VAT. Some financial court orders are more complicated than others, especially where there are businesses or trusts involved, and in other situations, you may not be able to reach a financial agreement and so need advice on the financial court process. Whatever the situation you find yourself in, Evolve Family Law can help with friendly approachable expert assistance combined with transparent costs. The first step is to contact us to discuss how our divorce solicitors can help you. For expert advice on divorce and family law call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form.