Case study
We acted on behalf of a husband, aged 60. The wife was 40 years old; and they had been married for 5 years with no children.
The family home was valued at £1M and mortgage free. The husband also had a pension of £1M and some small business interests. The wife worked full time.
Naturally, the wife argued that the sharing principle should apply and the property and pensions assets should be divided 50/50. We successfully argued that the Family Court should take into account the checklist of factors, noting that: this was arguably a short, childless marriage, the husband had made significant financial contributions (especially before the relationship), there was an age difference etc. The wife, of course would have needs ie. to be rehoused but the husband would also be looking at retirement in the foreseeable future, so his needs needed to be considered too. These were all factors to depart from the principle of 50/50 in the husband’s favour.
What happens when I reach a financial agreement?
It is important that the terms of your financial settlement are set out within either a separation agreement or, if there is a divorce, a consent order. Since the 6 April 2022 there is a new ‘no fault’ divorce law in England & Wales.
This is to avoid a party unpicking the financial agreement and effectively attempting to have a second bite of the cherry.
It is also important to check with your family law solicitor that the terms of any agreement are fair and that everything has been taken account of, especially as a both of you will have a number of financial claims.
How can we help you?
We are experts in this field of divorce and finances. We have a strong team of divorce solicitors to help you and to achieve the best financial outcome. We are also experts in international family law and can help where there are assets overseas and to consider jurisdiction or enforcement issues.
We are ranked in Tier 1 of the Legal 500 independent directory to the legal profession for family law for 2023 and preceding years.
