Financial Settlement

When it comes to divorce you don’t immediately think of tax. After all it is reasonable to assume that separation and divorce should be one aspect of your life that is tax free. However, our Manchester divorce solicitors will tell you that divorce isn’t tax free. In this blog we look at divorce and tax. Taxing divorce When it comes to separation and divorce there are obvious and hidden tax consequences. For example: Child support – the parent that pays child support for the children will pay the child support out of their net income and the parent who receives the child support won't pay income tax on the child support. It is important to factor in the net effect of child support payments when looking at issues such as mortgage capacity and affordability of mortgage payments or the likelihood of the court ordering spousal maintenance in addition to child support Spousal maintenance – if the court orders that spousal maintenance is payable then the spouse paying the spousal maintenance will pay it out of their net income and the spouse receiving the money won't pay income tax on the spousal maintenance. If the receiving spouse did then it would be double taxation Pensions - if a couple agree to the making of a pension sharing order then it is important to look at the tax consequences of taking the cash out of the pension fund, if that is the plan. If the tax effects of withdrawing the money from the pension aren’t considered then one or both spouses may end up with a far smaller financial settlement than envisaged or paying too much tax than they would have done if they had taken expert financial and pension advice The family home – if the family home is going to be sold then it is important to factor in stamp duty costs on rehousing when looking at the housing needs of the husband and wife. If the family home is going to be retained in both spouses names until a future date then capital gains tax may be payable by one spouse when the property is eventually sold, for example, when the youngest child is age 18 The sale or transfer of assets – if assets such as shares in a family business or an investment portfolio are sold or transferred then capital gains tax may be payable. There is the potential to avoid payment of capital gains tax if the transfer of assets takes place in the tax year of separation. That is why it is best to take early specialist legal and financial advice if you are a business owner getting divorced or you have other assets that may be liable to capital gains tax on sale or transfer, such as a buy to let property portfolio International tax- if a couple own property abroad, such as a second home, then there may be significant tax issues in the overseas country if the property is sold or transferred Tax issues on divorce – if a spouse makes allegations in financial court proceedings that their husband or wife has not declared income for tax purposes (and there is evidence to support this) or evidence of other tax irregularities (such as a sham trust) a family judge can order disclosure of the judgement to HMRC. [related_posts] Divorce, tax and HMRC It is accurate to say that some divorce and financial court proceedings can open up ‘’a can of worms’’ for a husband or wife when it comes to their tax affairs.   In a recent court case a judge said that the £12 million divorce financial court proceedings could potentially end up in a HMRC investigation, subject to the findings at the final hearing of the financial settlement case.   The case concerns a shipping business and a family home worth an estimated £4.5 million. The couple enjoyed a luxurious standard of living during their marriage but when the relationship broke down there was an acrimonious separation that led to financial court proceedings initiated by the wife.   A court of appeal judge, Lord Justice Males,  warned that should the wife establish her case against the husband then both could both be implicated in a 'criminal conspiracy...to evade tax properly due' on their earnings. The judge’s comments were made when the court heard an appeal to reinstate a freezing order injunction to prevent the husband from disposing of assets that the wife says are family assets and the husband says aren’t beneficially owned by him. The husband disputes ownership or any wrongdoing asserting that the multi-million shipping fleet were legitimately and properly transferred and thus there was no tax evasion and the ships or their value can't form part of the financial settlement.   The court of appeal judge was clear that he made no findings but was equally transparent in saying that if a court at the final hearing of the financial settlement case concluded that the ships were not genuinely transferred to a third party this could potentially result in investigations by tax authorities.   Divorce, tax and legal advice When it comes to divorce and tax, specialist Whitefield divorce solicitors work with expert accountants and financial advisors so that a divorcing husband and wife know where they stand both legally and financially and can make informed financial settlement decisions, understanding the tax implications of their divorce and financial settlement. Our Manchester Divorce Solicitors Whitefield, North Manchester and Holmes Chapel, Cheshire Evolve Family Law divorce experts cover all aspects of family law, divorce and financial settlements. To speak to a specialist Whitefield divorce solicitor call us or complete our online enquiry form. Appointments are available face to face, via video conferencing, Skype or by telephone appointment.

Do you suspect your ex is hiding assets from you in your divorce proceedings? If your ex is hiding assets there is a real risk you won't achieve a fair financial settlement. If you suspect your ex is hiding assets there is also a strong possibility that you won't be able to reach an agreed financial settlement because of your suspicions. That’s why if you think your ex is hiding assets in divorce proceedings it is best to get expert family law advice on your options. For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Is my ex hiding assets in divorce proceedings? Divorce solicitors will tell you that a husband and wife are under a duty to provide full and frank financial disclosure of their assets when negotiating a financial settlement. That’s the case whether you are negotiating through: Direct discussions Solicitor negotiations Family mediation Family arbitration Financial Court proceedings If things are amicable, or your finances are straight forward, you may not want to see reams of paperwork going back years but every family situation is different. You probably know if your ex has hidden stuff from you throughout your marriage or you may suspect that they started to do so when they met someone else or when the marriage got into difficulties and the relationship started to drift apart. If your ex is very keen to reach a financial settlement without providing any paperwork and wants to get an agreed clean break Financial Court Order as soon as possible this may raise a red flag for you or your divorce solicitor as you need some minimum paperwork to check things out. If you feel that you are being pressurised into accepting no or very limited financial disclosure documents, and into accepting your ex’s word for everything, talk to a financial settlement solicitor before agreeing to a division of assets. That’s because whilst your ex might be totally honest and just wanting to ‘cut to the chase’ and get an agreement, you are entitled to see supporting paperwork. It’s important to do so as any financial settlement you reach by agreement can't easily and quickly be unravelled if it turns out that you were right to have your suspicions about your ex hiding assets from you. [related_posts] Why is my ex hiding assets? There are many reasons why an ex may try to hide assets. Divorce solicitors come across these common excuses: It is inherited money It is savings from my income The new house is owned by my new partner so it isn’t really my asset even though the deposit came from me There is no need to get a business or pension or other asset valued as you can take my word for the value Money was owed to a family member and was not transferred to them to hide assets Cash that was put into additional bank accounts was forgotten Property owned abroad or owned before marriage doesn’t count towards the financial settlement so wasn’t disclosed as it isn’t relevant ( in the ex’s opinion) These are all excuses and should not be used as a reason to not provide full and frank financial disclosure. Sometimes an ex will try to hide money that might not be relevant to the financial settlement but you will both spend time and money arguing over the financial disclosure. However, if the asset had been disclosed at the outset your financial settlement solicitor could have advised you about its overall relevance to the financial settlement. For example, a pension accrued before a short marriage with a cash equivalent transfer value of £10,000 may not be of significance and your ex is wasting their time and money by trying to hide an asset that may be of limited relevance because of the duration of your marriage or your ages. However, by failing to disclose the pension, you and the Court may be far more sceptical about how honest their other financial disclosure is, such as, the extent of your ex’s declared self-employed income or the reason they have transferred money to a sibling or new partner. What can you do about an ex hiding assets? If you are separated or getting divorced and you believe your ex is hiding assets you may need urgent financial settlement and injunction representation. That’s because if your ex is hiding assets with the intention of reducing your financial settlement you may need an injunction order to stop them. Examples of when you may require a financial injunction include: Your ex is transferring money or property to a third party Your ex is putting their pension in payment and taking the maximum tax free cash sum to put the money out of your reach Your ex is syphoning money out of the family business by paying a family member for false invoices with a view to making sure the family business has a lower value placed on it as profits will be down Your ex is buying property overseas or transferring assets abroad Your ex is moving money out of joint bank accounts and putting it into cryptocurrency An injunction is a temporary measure to stop your ex from hiding or disposing of assets. It is best to consider a section 37 injunction application rather than assume that in financial settlement Court proceedings a new partner, parent or sibling can be joined into the financial application to try to unravel the transfer of assets. Whilst that is possible it is normally best to stop the transfer taking place in the first place by securing a freezing injunction. If you have not already done so, a divorce solicitor will also advise you to start financial Court proceedings for a Financial  Court Order. Within the financial settlement application, the Court can make financial disclosure orders that your ex will need to comply with. If your ex does not comply with the financial disclosure orders then you can ask the Court to enforce the disclosure orders against your ex or ask the Court to draw inferences. For example, if the Court ordered disclosure of historical bank statements to reveal what happened to the £100,000 after the sale of a buy to let property and your ex flouts the disclosure order you can ask the Court to draw inferences as to why and ask the Court to add back in the £100,000 so you get a greater share of the other family assets. Financial proceedings and ex hiding assets If you have started financial proceedings and you are not satisfied with your ex’s Form E financial disclosure then a specialist family solicitor can review the financial disclosure with you and draw up a list of additional questions and request for extra non-standard paperwork . For example, if your ex is the director and shareholder in a family business and you suspect they have been syphoning money off to their new partner by creative accounting or use of the director loan account, you can ask for a forensic accountant to value the business and look at your accounting concerns as well as asking for an order that your ex disclose statements for their DLA. Alternatively, you can ask the Court to make financial disclosure orders to help you investigate if: Your ex is self-employed and the family lifestyle does not match their declared earnings Your ex has withdrawn significant sums from a business or personal account and that is not their usual pattern of spending Your ex previously mentioned an asset that they said would be a rainy day asset or pension but there is no mention of the asset in their financial disclosure There are lots of ways a tenacious divorce solicitor can ‘get to the bottom’ of financial disclosure, with the assistance of your background information and knowledge of your ex, combined with seeking the right injunction, financial disclosure orders and valuations. For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form

The Impact of Domestic Violence On A Divorce Financial Award In this blog divorce financial settlement solicitor, Robin Charrot, looks at a recent court case involving divorce financial settlement claims and allegations of domestic violence to see how divorce settlements work and how the court treat domestic abuse allegations when making financial settlement decisions. The financial settlement A wife, age 55, separated from her husband. They could not reach a financial settlement by agreement and financial  court proceedings were started. Sadly, the scenario of a husband and wife splitting up and going to court to get a financial court order isn’t unusual but what marks this case out is that the wife was a barrister and had a property portfolio in her name, acquired through her earnings during the eleven-year marriage. The husband, age 58, wasn’t working and had not worked independently of the wife throughout the marriage. Again, there isn’t anything unusual about this save for the situation not complying with the unusual gender stereotype. However, the wife said that as well as her being the bread winner in the marriage, the husband had been violent to her on two separate occasions. The wife said that meant the husband should get nothing by way of financial award. The husband argued that wasn’t fair. The domestic violence allegation The financial court looked at the domestic violence allegations. The husband had been prosecuted but was acquitted so had no criminal conviction for domestic abuse. None the less the family court said it could take the allegations of domestic violence into account because the family court had made findings about the domestic abuse. A husband or wife should therefore not assume that just because a spouse did not report domestic abuse to the police that the family court will disregard domestic violence. However, the court also made it clear that just because there has been domestic violence in a relationship that does not mean that the perpetrator of the domestic abuse should end up with nothing. The financial court proceedings The family court ordered the wife to pay the husband £625,000 as a financial court order but the wife disagreed and appealed. She thought the ruling was unfair. The second judge said that £200,000 of the £625,000 award should be a charge to the wife, repayable by the husband’s estate on his death or repayable by the husband to the wife if the husband were to remarry or live with a new partner. The wife asked the court to reduce the lump sum payment to £425,000. On appeal, the court kept the payment at £625,000 and cancelled the charge. This means the wife has to pay the full £625,000. The court calculated that £625,000 was necessary to enable the husband to buy a new house with a budget of £400,000, with £25,000 to buy a car and pay living expenses and £200,000 to cover costs. The appeal judges concluded that the domestic violence findings did not mean there should be no financial  award or a charge back of some of the financial settlement. The appeal judges favoured a clean break financial settlement with no ongoing financial ties between husband and wife.  The costs of not agreeing a financial settlement When determining the appeal, the judge said the family financial  proceedings had become ‘an exercise in self-destruction' because the legal costs had become disproportionate to the family assets so it was hard to achieve a financial settlement that either husband or wife thought was fair. As the appeal court concluded that the findings of domestic abuse made against the husband do not justify making what would otherwise be an inappropriate order the £200,000 charge was removed giving him a lump sum of £625,000. [related_posts] The lessons from the court case The lessons from the court case are that arguing over principles doesn’t always pay as whilst the wife was the breadwinner the husband was nonetheless entitled to a financial  award to meet his needs. Those needs were not extinguished by the finding of domestic violence in the relationship by the family court although it is fair to say that the award is smaller than if no domestic violence allegations had been made. It is therefore important to raise allegations of domestic violence but not to expect that the court will make no award or an award that is lower than an amount that meets the perpetrators basic needs if the other party has his or her needs met. In this case the wife was not only a barrister, she specialised in family law. What that tells us is that it is important to get independent and impartial expert family law legal advice as early as possible. Whilst you may not like the legal advice it may save you a lot in legal costs if that legal advice enables you to reach a pragmatic financial settlement. Evolve Family Law are North West and Online Family and Divorce Solicitors For legal help and advice on divorce and family law call us or complete our online enquiry form.

When you take the decision to separate you may not realise just how big an impact your divorce may have on your future income. The financial services company, Legal and General has revealed that women’s income falls by a third and men’s income by 18% on divorce.  In this blog we look at the impact of divorce on your income. The divorce statistics You may be shocked by the divorce statistics and question why a woman’s income on divorce should reduce by more than men’s income.   The Legal and General research suggests that there are several factors behind the statistics, such as: The reality is that many women earn less than their male counterparts during the marriage because of career choices and childcare In divorce financial settlements women are more likely to ask her for and get a financial settlement that includes the family home or more than half the equity in the sale proceeds of the family home. If you get a greater share or all the equity in the property, then you are less likely to be awarded spousal maintenance or to receive a share of their husband's pension fund and the making of a pension sharing order. [related_posts] Will a divorce impact on my income? When a couple separate it is usual to go from a two-income household to a one-income household with a consequent reduction in income.   If a reduced income means that you can’t manage to pay your reasonable outgoings, the court can make an order that the other party to the marriage pay spousal maintenance. The payment of spousal maintenance can continue indefinitely until terminated by death, re-marriage of the receiving party or further order. Alternatively, the court can order that spousal maintenance is paid on a time limited basis.   What amounts to reasonable outgoings will depend on the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage as well as the affordability of the current outgoings considering: The ability of one spouse to afford to pay spousal maintenance and still meet their own reasonable outgoings and The ability of the other party to the marriage to either find work or increase their earnings capacity so they can meet all or a greater proportion of their own reasonable outgoings.   Divorce solicitors will tell you that when it comes to income on divorce and whether your respective incomes will be shared (through a spousal maintenance order) comes down to a range of factors, such as: Whether you have young children to support and whether the care of children impacts on your earnings capacity Whether any disability or age impacts on your ability to seek employment or increase your income Your income and earnings capacity The extent of your reasonable outgoings The length of the marriage Other factors, such as the existence of a prenuptial agreement that sets out whether and how long spousal maintenance should be payable on separation and divorce.   Perhaps, just as importantly, parity of income on divorce can come down to a question of priorities. You may want to forgo a pension sharing order on divorce as your priority isn’t income on retirement but instead getting the equity in the family home so you can rehouse yourself without a mortgage. Alternatively, you may want the capitalisation of your spousal maintenance payments so that you get a cash lump sum instead of ongoing monthly payments.   Whatever your priorities it is best on separation or divorce to take legal advice from a specialist divorce solicitor so you can understand the range of options for your financial settlement and work out which one is best for you and your family. Without expert legal and financial advice, you may not appreciate the value of the pension fund belonging to your spouse and how a pension sharing order could be to your financial advantage.   The divorce solicitors at Evolve Family Law will not only look at your financial settlement options but they will also reality test them with you. For example, if your priority is to keep the family home and you are willing to forgo a pension sharing order or spousal maintenance to keep the property then this may not be a realistic or best option if you can’t afford to pay your reasonable outgoings on the property as you aren’t getting spousal maintenance or a pension sharing order. Our Manchester and Cheshire Divorce Solicitors Evolve Family Law specialise in separation and divorce proceedings and resolving financial settlements .Call us or complete our online enquiry form for expert legal assistance with your financial settlement. Evolve Family Law have offices in Whitefield, North Manchester and Holmes Chapel, Cheshire but our family law solicitors are also experienced in working remotely and offer meetings by telephone appointment or video call.

You may think that when it comes to getting divorced and sorting out a financial settlement you don’t get a choice about where to start court proceedings. Our Manchester divorce solicitors will tell you that isn’t necessarily right and that when it comes to choosing your divorce forum it is best to get expert legal advice to make sure that you make the decision that is right for you. In this blog we look at the recently reported case of Mr and Mrs Villiers that highlights how a short geographical distance can make an enormous difference to the size of your financial settlement. The Case of Mr and Mrs Villiers One of the things that the Villiers case reminds divorce solicitors about is that divorce forum shopping doesn’t have to involve international families. That is because the disputed jurisdiction was between England and Scotland.   Charles Villiers asked the English Supreme Court to rule that his wife’s spousal maintenance claim should be decided in Scotland because he had started his divorce proceedings there. In 2014 Mr Villiers filed for divorce from his wife, Emma in Scotland. During the eighteen year marriage the couple lived near Dumbarton in Scotland. When the marriage broke down Emma Villiers moved to London and started a new life there. In 2015 Emma Villiers applied to an English court under section 27 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 for spousal maintenance. The English court ruled that she was habitually resident in England at the time of her application and so was entitled to ask the English court to rule on the amount of spousal maintenance. Mr Villiers disagreed and he therefore appealed the jurisdiction decision. His appeal eventually arrived at the Supreme Court.   The Supreme Court ruled, by a majority decision of three to two, that Emma Villiers could pursue her spousal maintenance claim in England.   You may question why time and legal fees were spent on arguing on court jurisdiction when Scotland and England are both part of the UK and not a million miles apart.   The cost of the court proceedings makes sense in the financial context that family courts in Scotland only tend to order payment of spousal maintenance for three years. Manchester divorce solicitors say that the Scottish position is sharply contrasted to the position in England where, in an appropriate case, a family judge can order spousal maintenance for life. Spousal maintenance for life means that the spousal maintenance payments won't stop until: The payer dies – however the spouse receiving the spousal maintenance payments can make a claim against the estate if financial provision isn’t made under the terms of the Will or through an insurance policy The payee dies The payee remarries The court makes an order to stop payment of spousal maintenance – for example, if the spouse receiving the spousal maintenance is in a long term cohabiting relationship or wins the lottery.   Court jurisdiction makes a big difference when the monthly spousal maintenance payments amounts to £5,500 per month on an interim basis. Furthermore, Mrs Villiers is asking the court to award her spousal maintenance of £10,000 per month based on the lifestyle enjoyed by the family during the marriage and her husband's wealth, although the extent of his wealth and the relevance of family trusts is disputed by him.   Doing the calculations, maintenance at £10,000 per month for three years amounts to £360,000 using Scottish law spousal maintenance principles but if sixty one year old Emma Villiers succeeds in her argument for life time spousal maintenance using English spousal maintenance principles then the figure could be far higher.   Mr Villiers said that his wife's actions in starting court proceedings in England amounted to ‘'divorce tourism'’ but the Supreme Court has ruled against him this week and therefore the spousal maintenance court proceedings will take place in England.   [related_posts]   The Supreme Court decided that the English court has jurisdiction to hear the wife's spousal maintenance application because the divorce proceedings in Scotland are not what it called a ‘‘related action’’ under article 13 of the Maintenance Regulations. Not all of the Supreme Court judges agreed with the decision but the lead judge said that as Emma Villiers is habitually resident in England the court in England can decide the issue of spousal maintenance.   The decision is being seen by many as a charter for divorce shopping to ensure that a husband or wife gets the optimum financial settlement through their choice of court jurisdiction to hear the divorce or associated financial proceedings.   England is known for its generous financial provision for the spouse who is in a weaker financial position and the decision in the case of Mr and Mrs Villiers will reinforce that view amongst international divorce solicitors.   If there is potentially more than one court jurisdiction for your divorce and financial court proceedings then it is best to take early legal advice from an expert Manchester divorce and financial settlement solicitor to make sure that you achieve a financial settlement that best meets your needs. Our Manchester Divorce Solicitors For specialist divorce and financial settlement legal advice call Whitefield, North Manchester and Cheshire based Evolve Family Law or complete our online enquiry form. We offer family law consultations by face to face appointment, video conferencing, Skype or by telephone appointment.

It is tempting to answer the question ‘’does length of marriage affect divorce settlement?’’ by saying that ‘’it all depends’’. However, many would say that reply is a typical politicians or lawyer’s answer and, if you are getting divorced, you want a clear answer, not something woolly. The reality though is that the length of a marriage is a relevant factor when the court decides how much a husband and wife should get in a divorce financial settlement. Just how relevant the length of the marriage is depends on the couple’s financial and personal circumstances. The short marriage and the divorce financial settlement Many people assume that if a couple have only been married for a couple of years then the divorcing spouse will not get  spousal maintenance or even a ‘’pay out‘’ or divorce financial settlement but it all depends.   If three couples have each been married for two years the financial settlement will be different for each couple, as highlighted by these three case examples:   Couple 1 Janet and John Janet and John are both high flyers and each owned property before their marriage. They have no children. The short length of their marriage will be highly influential in reaching a financial settlement and clean break financial court order.   Couple 2 Mariah and Nick The couple only got together just before their marriage two years ago and shortly afterwards the twins arrived. Mariah left work to look after them as Nick agreed juggling work and childcare was not in the interests of the twins. Although the couple have only been married for two years, the length of their marriage is not highly relevant, as the court will focus on the children’s needs when determining a fair financial settlement.   Couple 3 Bill and Ben Bill and Ben married two years ago but within a matter of months, Bill realised that he had made a mistake. He has moved out and started divorce proceedings. He has assumed that he will get a clean break financial court order as the couple only lived together for twelve months out of their two-year marriage.   However, before the marriage, Bill and Ben had lived together in a continuous relationship for about fifteen years. The court takes into account pre-marriage cohabitation when looking at the length of the marriage, if it was ‘’seamless living together’’. Although the marriage may have officially only been of two years duration, the family court could assess it as a long relationship of seventeen years when looking at what sort of divorce financial settlement would be fair to both Bill and Ben.   Does the length of marriage affect divorce settlement? The case studies show that when a Whitefield divorce solicitor answers the question ‘’ does the length of a marriage affect divorce settlement ‘’ with a ‘’maybe’’ that whilst it may be a woolly answer it is the correct one until more information is available on a couple’s financial and personal circumstances.   For help with your divorce financial settlement please contact our specialist divorce lawyers. [related_posts]

Taking the decision to separate may mean you want to ‘hunker down’ and not make any decisions about divorce financial settlements and the family home. Others may want to get the family home on the market and sold so they can make a fresh start, unhampered by the memories associated with the property. In this article, divorce financial settlement solicitor, Robin Charrot, looks at the options of selling the family home before or after your divorce. For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form. Selling the family home – getting the timing right The important thing is to not rush into making decisions about the family home as whilst your instant view may be that you want to move because of the marriage breakdown, or you want to stay because the children’s school is nearby, feelings and circumstances can change over time. There is no right or wrong answer about whether to sell the family home before or after your divorce. A lot will depend on your circumstances. For example, if you are in a six bed property with grounds and the children have grown up and left home, the separation may be the push to sell the family home and to do it now rather than wait until after the divorce. Your views on the timing of the sale of the family home may be influenced by whether you think the property boom will end or not. If you are in the camp that thinks the UK is heading into a recession and a housing market crash, you may believe it is better to sell up now, rather than wait. Waiting may not be in your best interests if you will end up downsizing in a property slump. A divorce financial settlement solicitor can help you look at your options to try and work out which one suits you best. [related_posts] Things to consider about the timing of the sale of the family home There are loads of things to weigh up when you are debating about whether to sell the family home before or after your divorce. Here are just a few: If you sell up, will you buy another house straight away or rent? Is renting a more expensive option or is it best in your situation as you will then be chain free when you find something else to buy If you get off the property ladder by selling the family home, do you risk pricing yourself out of buying the house you want if property prices continue to rise? Is the family home mortgaged? Is a preferential mortgage rate due to expire? Can you transport an existing mortgage to your new property? Will you be able to get another mortgage if you have recently started a new business or because of other changes in circumstances? Is it too early to sell up until you know the value of all the family assets, such as pensions or the family business? You may prefer to stay in the family home by offsetting the value of other assets Until you have more information about your partner’s income and your earnings capacity you may not know if you can afford to stay in the family home with your anticipated income and the potential for spousal maintenance payments If the family home is owned in joint names, or your sole name, your ex-partner could refuse to cooperate with the sale of the family home until a financial court order is made. If the house is owned by you, your ex-partner could place an objection at the land registry to prevent a sale or remortgage. Alternatively, they may only agree to sign the sale paperwork if you both agree that all or a percentage of the net proceeds of sale are retained in a solicitors account until you have reached a full divorce financial settlement when the sale proceeds will be divided in accordance with the financial court order Sale or delay Sometimes people are anxious to sell up because they cannot cope with continuing to live with their ex-partner at the family home as the divorce financial settlement process is taking too long. A divorce financial settlement solicitor can: Advise on whether you have the grounds to apply for an injunction order so you can stay at the family home until the court decides if the family home should be sold. This is known as an occupation order or ouster injunction Help you understand the range of financial settlement court orders the court could make in financial settlement proceedings to assist you in reaching an agreement in family mediation or by through solicitor negotiations For expert Divorce and Financial Settlement advice call our team of specialist divorce lawyers or complete our online enquiry form