When your marriage has broken down, many worry about how they will cope financially post-separation.
Many believe that the reason for your divorce (i.e. unreasonable behaviour, adultery and so on) affect your financial settlement and in most cases, this is not true. Only when very serious and impactful behaviour takes place will it potentially affect you.
The financial settlement in a divorce is based on a number of different factors, namely the s25 factors, that will be taken into account by the Judge. The Judge will consider:
Your earning and your ex-spouses earning, property and other financial resources;
The financial needs, obligations and responsibilities which you are your ex-spouse have or are likely to have in the foreseeable future;
The standard of living enjoyed before the breakdown of the marriage;
The age of you and your ex-spouse;
The duration of your marriage;
Any contributions made or is likely in the foreseeable future to be made by you or your ex-spouse;
The conduct (i.e. bad behaviour) of you or your ex-spouse.
You can see why each case is different and why the family Courts are allowed such discretion in making financial awards as the outcomes are not usually straightforward.
You should always remember to factor pensions into any financial settlement. This element can easily be forgotten and could be a large sum of money. You can also ask for a life insurance policy on your ex-spouse to protect you and your children in case they die and therefore any maintenance payments would stop. You can negotiate this insurance payment as part of your financial settlement.
There are various factors that need to be taken into account and it is therefore very important that you undertake legal advice before agreeing to any settlement.
The information provided in this article is not intended to constitute legal advice and you should take full and comprehensive legal advice on your individual circumstances by a fully qualified Solicitor before you embark on any course of action.
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