Advice on division of assets in divorce

Tom99

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

So presumably on this financial consent order all assets need to be disclosed? My brother in law works for HMRC and has told my sister they can just fill out the online form themselves. I have been on to the gov.uk site and there appears to be one.

He wants them to agree between themselves the split.

Can the court override this even if both parties are agreed?

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Yes on the statement of information which is attached when you apply for a consent order all capital assets including pension capital values and savings and total net income need to be stated.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I think the judge would normally grant the consent order if they think the split the parties have agreed is fair.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The parties have to state what advice they have each received in helping them make their decision, if any, also whether they intend to co-habit in the future.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If the judge felt the split was not fair, say husbands pension is worth £1m and his income is £100k pa, I am pretty sure they would not grant the consent order. I do not know what the judge's options are, certainly they can ask for further information and maybe require one or both parties to take independent advice.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I am not sure that you can apply for a consent order online but there are plenty of organisations offering to draft your consent order for a fee online.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]At this stage your sister is not yet in possession of all the facts, particularly the pension values, so is not in a position to say yes or no the the husband's proposal.[/FONT] [/FONT]

enthusiasticsaver

Yes that is what I said. My brother in law has made the proposal but not offered any information re assets or pension. I think she should ask for that and seek independent legal advice.

mgdavid

Sambella wrote: »

......

A consent order is good to have as it stops either coming back for more in later years.

Not necessarily; only if the Consent Order is worded to include a Clean Break clause(s). Without a clean break all bets are off.

enthusiasticsaver

mgdavid wrote: »

Not necessarily; only if the Consent Order is worded to include a Clean Break clause(s). Without a clean break all bets are off.

So does a clean break mean that they cannot agree a that he have an amount of cash now so he can buy again but still retain a share of the family home to be sold when the adult children reach a certain age? In exchange she gets to keep part of his pension.

So that way it would either have to be he gets the cash for a percentage of the property and retains all the pension and she keeps the house.

Presumably though you can have a consent order without a clean break clause?

mgdavid

No, clean break means whatever is agreed in the financial order is final and can't be varied later. It's most useful in avoiding Spousal Maintenance, which if it exists can be varied later by application to a court, and leaves the two parties tied financially often for years (and gives the lawyers the opportunity to see follow-on work!)

Spousal Maintenance is discouraged these days and more-or-less only exists in the rich celeb world.
Leaving some equity in the home which can only be realised after the children no longer need housing in it is quite common but also best avoided if there's an acceptable alternative as that enables financial closure for both sides and they can concentrate on the ongoing relationship with the children.