What Does It Mean To Have The Final Order Of Divorce?

Nowadays, as an application for divorce is dealt with using the online service and does not require a reason to be given for the breakdown of the marriage, understandably many couples will deal with the divorce application themselves and may not consult a family lawyer at any stage of the divorce. However, what many couple do not realise is that although the final divorce order ends the marriage and therefore extinguishes some of the rights which the parties acquired on marrying (for example the right to access a widow’s pension), the final divorce order does not deal with financial arrangements. Of course, it is often obvious that arrangements must be made, for example if the family home has been sold or if savings need to be shared, but there are some cases where there is no immediate need to sort out the finances and in those cases, although a divorced couple may feel that they do not want to embark on trying to agree a financial settlement, if the finances are not properly and fully dealt with, there is a possibility that significant problems could appear further down the line.

Let’s look at a fictious couple and potential unforeseen consequences in where the marriage may have ended but they are still tied financially to one another:

Helen was married to James; they married in 2007 divorce in 2023, they didn’t sort out their finances on divorce. Helen remained living in the family home with the children Tom and Amy, who at the time of the divorce are aged 12 and 14. The property is jointly owned by her with James but neither wanted to sort out the property at the time they divorce because they think it is too expensive to see a solicitor or consider mediation and think it is best just to leave things as they are. Moving on 6 years, Helen has remarried to Peter who has moved into the family home. Peter has paid for a new kitchen and extension, this cost £30,000. The property has increased in value, the children are now 18 and 2, and may be considered independent, and James now wants his share in the property. There are competing interests – Helen’s claims in the marriage are now limited because of her remarriage, Peter may now have an interest in the property as a result of his investment and James has had to wait for his share for some years meaning he has not been able to get back on the property ladder but is still renting (his claims are not limited as he has not remarried). This has become a more complex situation to unravel and hangs over the parties who are uncertain about the outcome and worry about the financial consequences of things.

What if in the same scenario James has a substantial pension and has continued to pay into this over the past 6 years, and the funs has increased substantially in value. Despite her remarriage Helen still has a claim to his pension. How should this be sorted out, what contributions to the fund should be considered, remembering the Court has wide discretion and Helen in this case has no provision of her own save her state pension. James is worried about what will happen and how this will affect his retirement.

What if further Helen is now seriously unwell, she has developed MS and can no longer work, the home has been adapted to suit her needs. She is worried she and Peter cannot afford to rehouse. The Court will need to consider the competing needs of the parties and all the circumstances of the case at the current time and not as they were in 2023.

There are other issues that could arise, perhaps Helen has also received a large inheritance which has been invested in the family home, James is now in debt as he has been renting and the cost is beyond his means. How should these points be dealt with?

The most striking thing is that the parties are now uncertain about their futures, they have not been able to draw a line under matters. The moral of the tale is to take legal advice at the time of your divorce. Once the divorce is issued the parties have a 20 week “cooling off” period which will enable them to sort things out and hopefully agree matters so that they can present an agreed financial order to the Court for approval by a Judge after the Conditional Order of divorce is made.

Do approach our friendly team, we have a wealth of experience and offer a sympathetic but efficient service. We also offer mediation. Your solicitor is here to help you sort things out and move forward with your life. Call Buss Murton on 01892 510 222.