With regard to financial matters, our aim is always to try to negotiate a mutually satisfactory settlement between the parties.  This should only take place after there has been a full and frank financial disclosure of both parties' up to date financial positions and, on this basis, proposals can then be made for settlement.

If proposals are agreed then these can be incorporated into a Consent Order approved by the Court on a petition for divorce or judicial separation, or, a Separation Agreement.  This is a formal Court Order made by consent which sets out the agreement between both parties and protects both parties from further claims from the other in the future.  Once it has been drafted by your solicitors and the terms are approved, it is signed by both parties and then submitted to the Court for approval.   Then, once it is approved by a Judge, it is sealed by the Court and becomes a binding Court Order.  A Consent Order application cannot be submitted to Court until Decree Nisi has been pronounced on your divorce or judicial separation proceedings.

The Court will only become more involved in the financial process if an agreement cannot be reached.  In these circumstances, either party can apply for Ancillary Relief (property and financial matters) which could ultimately result in a Court hearing to decide the issues of financial settlement and can result in the Court enforcing an Order upon you.  At any stage of the Court Proceedings it is possible to reach a settlement and part of the Court procedure is to try to encourage the parties to negotiate and hopefully reach a suitable settlement.  If the parties are able to reach settlement together during the Court process then this would again result in a Consent Order.

The Court has a number of powers in terms of what Orders can be made.  These include Orders for the sale or transfer of property between the parties, an Order for a lump sum payment from one party to the other, or, Orders for maintenance. 

Pensions often play a large part in financial proceedings and there are various ways in which these can be dealt with.  Firstly, an Offsetting Order can be made whereby the party without the pension is allowed more of the capital assets of the marriage to recompense them for the loss of the pension fund. 

Alternatively, the most popular way of dealing with pensions now is a Pension Sharing Order.  This means that a percentage of the pension fund is transferred from the fund of one party to the other party - either to their own private pension fund or kept within the remit of the original company pension depending on the rules of the pension trustees of that fund.  That party can then contribute to the fund if they wish.   However, you cannot have a Pension Sharing Order in a Consent Order reached after a petition for judicial separation has been issued.