Divorce & Finances: Can your Ex claim even more from you?

 

Divorce and Finances

A Cautionary Tale or “It ain’t over, til it’s over”

You may have issued the divorce petition yourself and reached a financial agreement with your ex-spouse. You may have acted on that financial agreement and now think that all is sorted.

In a very small number of cases that may be right. In the vast number of cases, it is wrong.

 

When a financial agreement is placed into a financial Court Order and approved by a Judge, it is binding. This means that, save for exceptional circumstances, the Order can not be revisited and if one party reneges upon the agreement the other party can apply to court to enforce it.

But, if you fail to obtain a Court Order, which will have the magic words ”all further claims in life and in death are dismissed” then financial claims between a divorced couple remain live, forever. Both in life and in death.

It may be that your ex-spouse just wants a “second bite of the cherry” and decides to issue court proceedings.

It maybe there is a favourable financial change in your circumstances, perhaps an inheritance, a pension lump sum, a business takeover, share capitalisation or just good fortune, an increase in your income perhaps through work or pension, then without a Court Order in your divorce, your ex-spouse can make a claim, even if this is years later.

Consider there is an unfavourable change in your ex-spouses financial circumstances through bad luck or bad judgement (perhaps they have lost their job, or their business has collapsed, or they can no longer work because of illness), then your ex-spouse can still make a claim against you to help support themselves.

These scenarios can, and indeed do, happen.  Regularly.

As solicitors, we are there to help and assist you, our client.

We have undertaken years of training and practice to ensure that you receive solid, competent legal advice.  We can advise on:-

• The family home
• Savings
• Shares
• Inheritance
• Pensions
• Business and business assets
• Trusts
• Income from any source

We can help ensure that any agreement is included into a Court Order and placed before a judge for approval. This will place you in the best possible position for your future financial planning and protection.  It will also include the 'clean break', the magic order! Only then do you have any piece of mind that it is definitely “over” and all ties are severed.

Read our companion article on this subject:  “The Re-Marriage Trap" or “Have you dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s?”.

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