Financial Matters

Why deal with these matters now?Spouses and former spouses have rights to make financial claims against each other by applying to the Court for orders for any or all of the following:

1. Maintenance (i.e. income payments).2. Adjustment of property ownership (e.g. transfer of a house from joint ownership to the sole

ownership of one spouse).3. Lump sums (i.e. capital payments).4. Pension sharing or attachment (the fund can be split between you, other payments made instead

of a direct pension claim, or the funds payable under a pension can be shared at the time of payment)

The usual way to deal with these claims where an agreement has been reached is by Court Order. When settlement terms are agreed or if there is simply to be a ‘clean break’, provided the Court agrees that such an Order would be appropriate, an Order can be made in those terms.

If no order is obtained at the time of divorce, the claims between the parties remain open. This is far from satisfactory as it means that a claim can be made years later. If one party later remarries then their ability to make claims may be lost. For these reasons we recommend that financial matters should be dealt with during divorce proceedings in a final and binding way.

The decree absolute of divorce (final decree) is routinely postponed until the financial matters are resolved. For further information on this please let us know.

Financial settlement in Divorce

Email us at: family@coles-miller.co.uk www.coles-miller.co.uk Follow us:

Email us at: family@coles-miller.co.uk www.coles-miller.co.uk Follow us:

What is relevant?In resolving the financial arrangements between you all the circumstances of your case are taken into account and first consideration is given to the welfare of any children of the family under the age of 18. In particular, the Court has regard to the following matters:

• The income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources which each spouse has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future including, in the case of earning capacity, any increase in that capacity which it would be, in the opinion of the Court, reasonable to expect a person to take steps to acquire.

• The financial needs, obligations and responsibilities which each spouse 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 ages of each spouse and the duration of the marriage.

• Any physical or mental disability of each spouse.

• The contributions which each spouse has made or is likely to make 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 each spouse, if that conduct is such that it would in the opinion of the Court be inequitable to disregard.

• The value to each spouse of any benefit which one spouse because of the divorce will lose the chance of acquiring (most usually pension provision).

The appropriate settlement can therefore only be found by reference to full information on both parties and with reference to the above factors. If you would wish to have further advice please let us know. Information we will require includes:

1. Valuations of any properties owned by either of you and full details of any loans secured thereon

2. Details of any debts arising in either sole or joint names3. Details of any assets, shares, policies, bonds held in either sole or joint names4. Details of all income of both parties5. Details of the cash transfer value of a pension in the name of either party.

The aim of the court is to achieve fairness. Often key factors are the reasonable needs of both parties. However, the general rule is the Court should start from the basis of equality between the parties, unless there is a good reason to depart from this, usually a good reason will be the housing needs of the children.

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Pensions adviceAs family solicitors we are qualified to provide you with legal advice and assistance in relation to the options available to deal with pensions in your divorce or separation.

Pensions are a complex area and by working together with fellow professionals we can provide you with all the information you might need to make an informed decision.

We recommend that where pensions are being considered as part of the circumstances of your case that you should also consult with a pension adviser who can review the options with you from their own specialist point of view and provide you with independent financial advice to complement the legal advice that we can provide. If you would like information about professionals we have worked with who can provide this information to you please ask us.

In some cases we might suggest referral of your case to a pension actuary in addition for the detailed calculation of pension arrangements including forecasting income etc, although this is not appropriate in every case.

Guide as to costs in financial mattersOur aim is to keep your costs to a minimum and we will, whenever possible, attempt to achieve a settlement in relation to financial aspects by way of negotiation rather than by contested court proceedings. Costs can however vary considerably from case to case.

Please see our terms of engagement and attached client care letter detailing our hourly charges and how this breaks down. We will advise you about ways in which you can try and minimise the costs implications and this can include preparing your form E in first draft yourself, as well as putting together responses to questions raised of you etc.

1. Where there is already an agreementIf you have already reached an agreement (for example, arising out of mediation or direct negotiations) we can advise you on the terms. If you wish to have the agreement prepared into a binding consent order for court approval we will advise you on the proposals and prepare all of the papers for the court. Our costs estimate for this work are based on our usual hourly charge rates, will be in the region of £650 to £1,250 + VAT and the court fee of £50. This is provided that the case is straight forward and assumes that you are able to produce financial information for both you and the other party at the time you seek advice.

2. If there is no agreement and negotiations are required The first stage of negotiations is to obtain full financial information for both parties which can be a simple and straightforward step involving an exchange of letters with documents or can be more involved and require the completion of a full financial statement (called Form E) by both parties and sometimes also questions to raise and answers. There will be negotiations to try to reach a settlement and our estimated costs are between £750 to £5,000 + VAT. In addition there are sometimes costs associated with obtaining expert reports including valuation evidence, if these cannot be agreed, and these additional expenses will be raised with you, if applicable. If an order is made by consent the court fee is £50 and our costs in Section 1 will apply.

3. Where an application to Court is neededIf an application is required we will require the court fee from you which is £255. Generally the costs of going through the court procedure vary from £1,500 + VAT where proceedings are settled at an early stage, to £12,000 to £20,000 + VAT where the matter requires a full hearing. In some cases where the assets or issues are complicated or particularly substantial the costs may be up to £25,000 + VAT.

We will always consider with you the possibility of reaching settlement at each stage of the court proceedings and costs should always be proportionate to the benefit it is hoped will be achieved. Many cases will conclude with a negotiated settlement before the final hearing and we will keep you informed during the proceedings as to your costs.

4. Other costsIf the settlement or order in your case requires property to be sold or transferred, our conveyancing department will be happy to provide you with an estimate for costs involved.

If any pension orders are made, pension trustees levy their own charges of which they will advise you. These fees vary between schemes.

If you obtain expert assistance in the form of a barrister’s opinion, expert valuation or reports relating to any issues including health, tax etc additional charges will apply which we will discuss with you at the time as they vary from case to case.

MediaYou might be aware that as of April 2009 the rules relating to media access to family cases has changed and the media can now attend family cases which were always previously held in private. It is expected that in general terms however a tiny minority of cases will be affected in this way. In brief however only members of the accredited press are permitted access to hearings and are not permitted to report on the details of the hearing, nor have access to the documents referred to. It is possible to make applications to the court to have media attendance prevented or restricted where it is found necessary by the Court. If you suspect that your matter might attract interest from the press please notify us so that we can consider the issues with you further particularly as they may well affect the costs estimates we provide.

Email us at: family@coles-miller.co.uk www.coles-miller.co.uk Follow us:

Poole 01202 673011Bournemouth 01202 293226Christchurch 01202 355661Broadstone 01202 694891Wimborne 01202 935039

Family Law Team

Richard Perrins Partner , Mediator and Head of Family Law

Nicola Wootten Associate, Solicitor

Lindsey Arnold Senior Family Lawyer

Kristie Rhodes Solicitor

Bruce Gaudion Solicitor & Collaborative Lawyer

Julie Keogh Family Law Executive