Getting divorced and unsure what you are entitled to? Need a consent order reviewed before you sign? Eugene Pienaar provides direct legal consultancy on divorce financial settlements and mediation to resolve without a contested hearing.
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Understanding what you are entitled to, getting documents right, and resolving without a contested financial remedy hearing.
Direct advice on what a fair divorce financial settlement looks like in your specific circumstances and what the court would be likely to order if the matter were contested.
Before you sign a consent order — or draft one yourself — get a solicitor-trained review. A consent order that does not protect your position properly cannot be easily undone once approved by the court.
Resolve the financial aspects of your divorce through mediation rather than a contested financial remedy hearing. Faster, cheaper, and both parties own the outcome.
The financial aspects of divorce are often more complex than the divorce itself. The divorce — the legal dissolution of the marriage — is now a relatively straightforward administrative process since the introduction of no-fault divorce. The financial settlement is where the real difficulty lies.
There is no formula. The court has a wide discretion under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and considers a range of factors including the length of the marriage, the contributions of each party, the needs of any children, the standard of living during the marriage, and the income and assets of both parties. In most cases the starting point is an equal division of matrimonial assets, but the court departs from equality where fairness requires it.
Understanding what a realistic settlement looks like in your specific circumstances — rather than what you have been told you are entitled to — is one of the most valuable conversations you can have before you enter any negotiation.
A consent order is the document that makes your financial agreement legally binding and prevents either party from making future claims. Without a consent order, your former spouse could make financial claims against you years after the divorce — even after you have remarried. Getting a consent order is not optional — it is essential.
Many people draft their own consent orders or use online template services without getting professional advice on the terms. A consent order that does not include a proper clean break clause, that fails to deal with pensions, or that is drafted in terms that are ambiguous or unenforceable, can cause serious problems years later. Eugene reviews consent orders before they are submitted to the court.
Pensions are often the most valuable matrimonial asset and the most frequently overlooked. There are three ways to deal with pensions on divorce — offsetting against other assets, earmarking, and pension sharing. Pension sharing is the cleanest approach and the most commonly ordered by the courts. It requires a pension sharing annex to be attached to the consent order and the pension provider must be notified.
A contested financial remedy hearing is expensive, slow and emotionally draining. Mediation resolves the financial aspects of divorce in a structured negotiation with a neutral mediator. You each attend with full disclosure of your financial positions and work towards an agreement. If agreement is reached the memorandum of understanding forms the basis of the consent order. Eugene conducts financial remedy mediation as an accredited mediator.
Book a free 20-minute call. Eugene will tell you honestly what a fair settlement looks like in your circumstances.