For family law practitioners, one of the most commonly asked questions is “what am I entitled to?”, or “will my spouse get half everything upon divorce?”. Generally, these questions cannot be answered simply.
Upon separation and divorce, each spouse is entitled to make claims against the other by virtue of their marriage in relation to the division of their assets, incomes, pensions, liabilities, and any other related issues. As such, each spouse may apply to the court for a financial remedy.
The first step in resolving these financial claims is for both spouses to give full and frank financial disclosure which includes disclosing details of all assets, pensions, incomes, liabilities, and any other financial circumstances. It is only after full and frank disclosure has been provided that consideration can be given as to what financial settlement is fair, having regard to the factors taken into account by a Court.
However, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution and there is a range of financial settlements which could be considered ‘fair’ and this will be different from one family to another depending on their specific circumstances.
The Court’s first consideration will be meeting the children’s needs whilst under the age of 18. Thereafter, the starting point for the court will be to consider whether an equal division of matrimonial assets is sufficient to meet both spouse’s needs.
Regrettably, in many cases there are not sufficient assets to meet parties’ needs by sharing them equally. In these circumstances the Court may then resort to non-matrimonial assets and/or depart from equal division to meet needs, after having given first consideration to the welfare of any children. The Court will also need to consider various factors set out in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.
If you would like advice about Divorce or Financial remedies, please contact our Family Team at 01206 700113 or contact us