In rare cases there can be a total "walk-away” situation where no one pays any income or capital to anyone.
In other cases, there might have to be say a house sale, where the proceeds are divided, and the parties can then walk away with no ongoing arrangement.
In other cases - particularly those where there are young children involved - the position can be very, very different in that there will be need for initial lump sum payments, ongoing monthly payments, and arrangements made as to who lives where.
In all of these cases, it is open to the parties to reach agreement and to stick to that agreement. In order to work out what is an appropriate agreement the parties will have to work out exactly what their assets are. This would include income, property, ownership of any business, agricultural assets, pensions, trust funds, inheritances and so on.
In many cases though, such agreement becomes impossible and lawyers become involved to advise people what they are entitled to under the law as it stands, and to then try to secure that for them.
If no agreement can be reached, on a divorce the Court can formally intervene to resolve the financial arrangements if one party applies to the Court to request its intervention.
Family solicitors try and approach the resolution of the financial aspects of a divorce through agreement and negotiation and only use Court proceedings as a last resort. Solicitors now have many tools that they can use to try to resolve financial disputes either through direct negotiations with the other solicitors, or by directing the case towards what is called mediation.
Mediation is a process where both parties will meet together with an expert mediator. The mediator is often a solicitor himself. Through these meetings the parties will disclose what their finances are and will hopefully work out the best way for the income and assets to be divided up. The mediator will not give legal advice but will assist the parties in trying to come to a sensible and workable agreement.
Another way of trying to resolve these disputes without using Court proceedings is called collaborative law. Collaborative law involves both parties having their own specially-trained collaborative solicitor, and there then being a series of meetings with both solicitors and parties present. Any other professionals that may be needed for example an accountant or pension advisor can also join these meetings. The difference in these meetings is that for the collaborative process to work the solicitors and the clients all have to sign an agreement that they will not resolve matters by going to Court. If a party does then wish to resort to court proceedings, the solicitor will have to withdraw from the case.
If the court does become involved in resolving the financial dispute, it has wide powers to divide up a family's resources. It can order one party to pay maintenance to the other. It can order sale of property. It can order the transfer of ownership of property. It can order a party to pay a lump sum to the other party. Such court proceedings can be long, traumatic, and very expensive.
Our large and leading Matrimonial Law team can assist you to understand your financial needs if you are going through a divorce, and can give you chapter and verse on what you are entitled to expect under the current law. We can then work on your behalf to try to secure a satisfactory settlement for you - we will use a wide range of tools to do that. These tools range from negotiation with the other lawyers, to mediation and collaboration. Our lawyers are specially trained in both mediation and collaboration. If all else fails, we are well-versed at representing people in financial disputes that have to go through full court proceedings.
As we say, we are always there for people and families who are in our PURPLE LEGAL scheme. We invite you to join PURPLE LEGAL now. By joining PURPLE LEGAL, you can have all your legal enquiries answered free of charge by simply booking a SolicitorSlot for a time and date that suits you. Alternatively if you wish to speak to us now, please click on "Please Contact Me Now” or call us on 0845 567 5000. We look forward to always being there for you.
