Being able to reach a financial settlement is a key concern to people thinking about beginning divorce proceedings. Our family team hold a great deal of experience in negotiating settlements with our clients best interests in mind. We are used to dealing with complex financial affairs for both substantial sums of money, or finances including business, family settlements and offshore trustees. As well as focusing on the end goal for you, our team aims to try to keep from proceedings from taking an unnecessary amount of time. Our lawyers realise, especially when children are involved, that quickly resolving a financial settlement is of upmost importance.
Once you have instructed a lawyer within our team, the first step is to make sure that we have a full picture of the assets of both parties, which is known as disclosure. Both you and your spouse will need to make a full disclosure of your financial position before any negotiations can start. Once these have all been gathered, and agreed, we are then able to open discussion in order to meet a settlement.
This process is called disclosure. Both partners must make a full and frank disclosure of their financial position before negotiations can start. Once we have all the details of the assets, and agreed their values, we can then open negotiations to reach a settlement. Although most cases are usually settled between the couple concerned and their lawyers, it is sometimes appropriate for an application to court to be issued to resolve a financial dispute. A minority of cases are actually resolved by a final hearing in front of a judge.
When formulating financial settlements, the law takes in several different pieces of criteria into account. There is no set formula for the division of assets – it is a discretionary system. The main considerations which the court takes into account is the welfare of any dependant children. The courts will also take into account, in respect of spouses, your savings, housing needs, pensions, income and the duration of the marriage or civil partnership.
What next?
If you would like to discuss how the assets in your case are likely to be divided, please contact a member of the family team.
