It ain’t
You’ve got your Decree Absolute (the final stage of your divorce), you’ve reached a final agreement as to how the finances are to be divided up and this has been approved by the Court so that’s it right? It’s over and you and your former spouse can finally move on with your lives? Well, not necessarily.
over till it’s over
I’ve seen a recent increase in people coming to me with queries about financial settlements, involving property, reached years ago that they didn’t actually ever take steps to implement! Thankfully if you are / were one of our clients this is unlikely to happen because at Mayo Wynne Baxter we have specialist family lawyers and property lawyers that work closely together to ensure when matters are finalised, they are actually finalised. It is common in some divorce financial settlements for it to be agreed that the former matrimonial home is transferred to one spouse with the other having a “charge” over the property. This basically means that the other spouse is deferring their interest in the property to a later date, for instance when the youngest child is 18 or finishes full time education. In a couple of cases I have dealt with recently people have come to me to ask how they get the money they are now due because, in these instances, the youngest child is now 18 and finished full time education. Following enquiries at the Land Registry I have discovered in both these instances that the former matrimonial home was never actually transferred and it remains in joint names as does the mortgage liability. If steps aren’t actually taken to implement the terms of the agreement reached, it can leave people in a financially vulnerable position. So what can be done to prevent this from happening? My top tips are: Before a financial settlement involving property interests is submitted to the court for approval make sure that the terms are a) run past a property lawyer to check and b) approved by anyone who has a restriction registered on the property such as a mortgage company. Once a financial settlement relating to a property has been approved make sure that the necessary steps are taken to implement the terms of the settlement. If you are in any doubt what steps need to be taken seek legal advice. Don’t ignore advice from the lawyer dealing with your divorce about taking steps to implement the terms of the order. You may have had enough of lawyers and legal fees but the time and money spent making sure everything is finalised is worth it in the long run. If you are due to pay out or due to receive some money in the future from the settlement make sure to make note to review matters about 6 months before the payment is due. If you are the one paying out you need to take steps before the payment date is due to consider your financial position, don’t leave it to the last minute or forget about it all together as interest may be added. Needless to say if you are the one due the payment make a note of this too so you don’t forget! By Gemma Hope
17