Divorce Financial Settlement

Divorce can be one of the most emotionally and financially challenging experiences in a person’s life. When a marriage ends, dividing your assets and securing your financial future can feel overwhelming. Many people worry about whether they will be able to keep their home, support their children, or maintain their financial stability. At Birch & Co., we are experts in family law matters. We will work closely with you, using our expertise and experience to secure a fair divorce financial settlement for you and your family.

Reach out to Birch & Co’s specialist and supportive team today. Call us on 0191 284 5030 or complete a Free Online Enquiry now to get a bespoke fixed price estimate.

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What Is A Divorce Financial Settlement?

A divorce financial settlement is a legal agreement that determines how a couple’s finances should be divided when they separate. It covers everything from property and pensions to debts and future maintenance.

The family court’s goal is to achieve a fair outcome for both parties. The judge looks at the circumstances of each individual case, including the parties’ income and needs, as well as the needs of any children, to decide what would be just and reasonable.

A financial settlement can include:

How the couple’s property should be divided, such as the family home.
How assets, such as savings, investments, and pensions, should be split.
How any business interests and trusts should be divided.
How any outstanding debts and liabilities should be dealt with.
Whether any spousal maintenance should be paid from one partner to the other.

How Can You Reach A Divorce Financial Settlement?

There are a few different routes to reaching a divorce financial settlement. The appropriate one in your case depends on how amicable or complex your situation is.

Examples of some of the ways in which you can reach a divorce financial settlement include the following:

• Negotiation Between The Parties

Many couples start by discussing how they would like to divide their assets. If communication is constructive, an agreement can often be reached informally, with help from family law solicitors like ours to ensure that it is fair and documented correctly.
Your solicitor will advise you on what a fair outcome looks like, help identify all the marital assets, and draft the paperwork needed for a binding settlement.

• Mediation

If the parties cannot negotiate a divorce financial settlement themselves, mediation is sometimes the next step. A trained mediator acts as a neutral third party to help you and your former spouse reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

Mediation is confidential, voluntary, and usually faster and cheaper than court proceedings. It also allows the parties to retain control over both the process and the form of the divorce financial settlement they enter into.

If you reach an agreement in mediation, our family law solicitors can turn it into a legally binding consent order for court approval.

• Family Arbitration

The fact that mediation is a voluntary process means that it sometimes does not work. In a family arbitration, a highly trained arbitrator considers the case and makes a decision that is binding on both sides. Arbitration offers parties a wide range of benefits, including speed, versatility, and cost-efficiency.

• Court Proceedings

Court proceedings should always be a last resort after other methods, like negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, have proved unsuccessful. If court proceedings are unavoidable in your case, our family law solicitors will ensure your interests are fully protected and work tirelessly to ensure that you receive everything you are entitled to.

What information is used to make a fair divorce financial settlement?

A key part of any process entered into with a view to achieving a divorce financial settlement is full and frank disclosure. For a settlement to be fair, both parties must provide honest and complete details of their financial situation. The types of information they must provide include the following:

Income and employment details.
Bank accounts, savings, and investments details.
Property values and mortgages.
Pensions and life insurance.
Debts and liabilities.
Business interests.

Failure to accurately disclose assets can lead to serious consequences, including the court overturning any settlement later found to be based on incomplete or false information.

Our family law solicitors will help you gather and organise the necessary documents and ensure that your disclosure is accurate and legally compliant.

What are the different types of divorce financial settlements?

The court has wide discretion when making divorce financial settlements. These can include the following:

• Lump sum orders

A lump sum order is where one party pays a fixed amount to the other.

• Property Adjustment Orders

A property adjustment order is where ownership of a property is transferred from one party to another, or where a property is sold and the proceeds divided between the parties.

• Pension Sharing Orders

Pensions are often among the most valuable marital assets. The court can order that a percentage of one spouse’s pension be transferred to the other.

How Can We Help With Divorce Financial Settlements?

A divorce financial settlement is about more than simply dividing money and other assets. It is about creating stability and fairness for your future and the future of your family. With the right legal advice, you can achieve a resolution that protects your interests and allows you to move forward with confidence.