Financial Remedy Order

beka88

Hello, I would need some guidance about Financial Remedy Order after divorce and hope someone might be able to help me.

I am now divorced from my ex Husband as of last year. Sorting out finances has not been an easy task. At first we have agreed of no splitting of assets and I have sent off for Consent Order to be dealt with by Court and then a judge had some queries on it for us to confirm. Now my ex H will not sign a new Consent Order that would need to be amended and a letter which would confirm that he would not have a claim on my property which was our matrimonial home.
So now I am in a position where I would need to apply for a Financial Remedy Order and take him to Court which is what I do not want to do but that is the only way to move on.
 
I have a property that I have purchased before our marriage to live in and which I am living in now with our Child. The property has been our matrimonial home during our marriage. My property has always been in my name and I only have always paid the mortgage on it.  He has his own property which he lives in now that he has purchased last year after we divorced. If my property is to be sold there would be 70-80 k equity in my property. If his property would be sold there would be 10-15 k equity which is based on deposit and possible 5 k equity. 
I have some savings and some pension.
He has some savings that he hides in our child's account and he probably wont disclose his money when it comes to filling form E.
The reason he does not want to sort out finances so that he is able to control me so that I do not sell up and move with our child.
So my questions are:
How will Court make this Financial Remedy Order if we do not agree before the first hearing?
Would Court makes us split our assets equally meaning that we would have to sell our Homes? And lets say that we do not wish to claim from each other would Court still make us share assets?
How would Court look at his trying to hide his money or disclosing everything he has? Would he be required to disclose everything?
He might try to fight that my property is not sold till our Child is 18? But I wish to move on from it so what would Court decide then? Would I be able to sell it since it is in my name only and we are now divorced?
Thank you so much in advance for any help.

TBagpuss

beka88 said:

Hello, I would need some guidance about Financial Remedy Order after divorce and hope someone might be able to help me.

I am now divorced from my ex Husband as of last year. Sorting out finances has not been an easy task. At first we have agreed of no splitting of assets and I have sent off for Consent Order to be dealt with by Court and then a judge had some queries on it for us to confirm. Now my ex H will not sign a new Consent Order that would need to be amended and a letter which would confirm that he would not have a claim on my property which was our matrimonial home.
So now I am in a position where I would need to apply for a Financial Remedy Order and take him to Court which is what I do not want to do but that is the only way to move on.
 
I have a property that I have purchased before our marriage to live in and which I am living in now with our Child. The property has been our matrimonial home during our marriage. My property has always been in my name and I only have always paid the mortgage on it.  He has his own property which he lives in now that he has purchased last year after we divorced. If my property is to be sold there would be 70-80 k equity in my property. If his property would be sold there would be 10-15 k equity which is based on deposit and possible 5 k equity. 
I have some savings and some pension.
He has some savings that he hides in our child's account and he probably wont disclose his money when it comes to filling form E.
The reason he does not want to sort out finances so that he is able to control me so that I do not sell up and move with our child.
So my questions are:
How will Court make this Financial Remedy Order if we do not agree before the first hearing?
Would Court makes us split our assets equally meaning that we would have to sell our Homes? And lets say that we do not wish to claim from each other would Court still make us share assets?
How would Court look at his trying to hide his money or disclosing everything he has? Would he be required to disclose everything?
He might try to fight that my property is not sold till our Child is 18? But I wish to move on from it so what would Court decide then? Would I be able to sell it since it is in my name only and we are now divorced?
Thank you so much in advance for any help.

How will Court make this Financial Remedy Order if we do not agree before the first hearing?
The court can only make an order at a final hearing, after hearing all of the evidence from each of  you, or by agreement. You and he can agree at any time. So if he comes to the first hearing and says he still wants to settlement the basis of the consent order, the court may ell male the order in those terms, once they are satisfied he hasn't been coerced. 

Would Court makes us split our assets equally meaning that we would have to sell our Homes?
Not necessarily. If you can't agree agree, then the Judge has to decide what is a fair and reasonable outcome, taking into account all the relevant factors including your respective needs and the needs of any children, your incomes, earning capacities and other resources, the length of the marriage, any pre-existing agreements and so on.  The court *can* order that properties are sold but won't necessarily do so if they are satisfied that it is possible ti split the assets fairly without doing so.

 And lets say that we do not wish to claim from each other would Court still make us share assets?
It is unlikely. A court will normally allow you to agree to a settlement even where it is different to what the Judge would have ordered, as long as they are satisfied that you both understand what you are agreeing to and have not been coerced or otherwise put under pressure to agree to something which is not in your best interests.  often it is about given the Judge more information so that they can see that, in context, the order is fair. 

How would Court look at his trying to hide his money or disclosing everything he has? Would he be required to disclose everything?
You will both have to disclosure everything. If you can *prove* that he has failed to do so then the Judge can make a decision based on what they believe his true assets to be, or assuming that money he has 'given away' is still counted as part of his share. However, you will need more than your own belief that he is hiding money.

He might try to fight that my property is not sold till our Child is 18? But I wish to move on from it so what would Court decide then? Would I be able to sell it since it is in my name only and we are now divorced?
If a property is in your sole name then yes, you can sell it, but the money from the sale, or any new property you bought, would still be matrimonial assets he could make a claim on, and that will be the case until the court makes an order. The court has the power to allow you to delay a sale, but normally would only do so if they are satisfied that it is fair - typically if they accept that it is the only way to ensure that their is suitable housing for any minor children. If selling the house now simply meant you might have to buy a smaller property or one which was less desirable, then it's less likely that they would delay the sale.


I suggest that you go and see a solicitor. They will be able to advise you about what a court might sere s fair, and about how to frame any current agreement in a way that makes it more likely that a court would approve the order. If they advise you that the proposals you and your ex agree are unlikely to be approved they'll also be able to suggest alternatives to try to help you negotiate something you can both agree on and that a court will be willing to approve as well. 

BrassicWoman

This sounds like he is worried that you will prevent him from seeing his child. Is this true, and if so, is there a good reason for him to have that concern? Could a custody arrangement help with this and make things flow smoother?