Divorce lawyers and divorce solicitors

Sometimes, an out-of-court agreement on money and property in a divorce or separation is just not possible. If this is the situation with you, we can help you reach a fair legal settlement on the finances. 

If you and your ex-partner cannot agree, you can ask a court to make a financial order. It means the court will decide how your assets will split, and it’s usually a lengthier and more expensive route to take.

Except in certain circumstances, such as cases involving domestic abuse, you will be asked to attend a mediation meeting before making the court application. If mediation fails, we can help you apply for a financial order.

A financial order sets out how you’re going to divide up assets, such as:

•  your home

•  savings

•  pensions

•  property

•  investments

•  child maintenance

When it comes to calculating child maintenance the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will calculate how much should be paid and can arrange for payment if so desired. The court will only intervene in child maintenance matters in limited circumstances. Those circumstances include making an order relating to school fees, or ordering ‘top up’ maintenance if the paying partner earns over £156,000 a year (the CMS disregards any earnings over that amount).

We have talked above about the various matters for which you might need a financial order, such as pensions and investments. Here, we go through the different types of financial order:

• Maintenance pending suit / interim maintenance - this is where one party pays the other a regular sum of money until the financial proceedings are finished. This may be used when one party has been the main breadwinner, for example.

• Periodical payments - also known as spousal maintenance, this is a regular payment from one ex-partner to the other to help with costs of living. This can be ordered for a set period (say, five years) and can be extended at a later date.

• Lump sum order - one party pays a lump sum to the other on a set date, or on set dates if paid in instalments.

• Property adjustment order - often made when two people owned a property together before separation or divorce. Here, an order can be made for the property to be transferred into one party’s name, or to alter the shares in the property, say from 50/50 to 80/20.

• Pension orders - there are two types of pensions order: a pension attachment order to a pension scheme to make payments to the scheme member’s former spouse or partner; and, a pension sharing order to transfer a proportion of a scheme member’s pension into a new pension for their ex-partner or spouse.

• Financial orders for children - some of the orders here can also be made for the benefit of children but will need to be considered alongside child maintenance. It’s a complex area for which we recommend you take legal advice.

Financial matters post-divorce or separation are very often a tangled web, and the source of much disagreement, so it’s not uncommon for legal proceedings to be your best chance of finding a resolution. Give our friendly team a call to discuss the options open to you.

You must usually attend a meeting about mediation before you apply to a family law court. This is called a mediation information and assessment meeting (MIAM) and is compulsory in most cases, with notable exceptions, such as domestic abuse. Since April 2024, the courts have taken a much stricter approach to this.

This initial meeting is with a specially qualified family mediator who will help you to consider whether your financial issues can be resolved without going before a judge or magistrate. Belderbos Solicitors offers family mediation services for couples, including the MIAM and subsequent mediation meetings if you want to explore further an out-of-court agreement.

Director James Belderbos is a trained mediator and collaborative lawyer. James’s training was provided by Resolution and is approved by the Family Mediation Standards Board. James is registered as a mediator in Rutland with the Family Mediation Council (FMC) and he offers in-person mediation and online mediation services in Oakham and throughout Rutland and Leicestershire.

•   Before applying to court, explore alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation, arbitration and collaborative family law, which can be faster and less stressful

•   Your wait for an outcome for your application to court may be a long one. With a backlog in the courts, a wait of 12 months for a decision to be made is common. Consider how swiftly you want a decision when seeking a court order

•   You can find the relevant application forms and guidance on this UK government website, but we recommend you seek legal advice and support to complete and submit them. Work with our team of child and family law solicitors to make sure you provide all the necessary information

•   If you are applying for a financial order relating to a child, your child’s welfare will be the court’s priority. Your wishes on sensitive issues such as time spent with your child will be taken into account, but ultimately the judge or magistrate will put the child first and this may not be the outcome you desire