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My spouse and I are in agreement regarding the financial side of the divorce. Do we need to do anything more formal?
It is possible in the jurisdiction of England and Wales to get from married to divorced without formally dealing with the financial aspects of the divorce. There will be no outside interference if you reach your own agreement and implement it. You do however each take a risk that the other party could raise a financial claim in respect of the marriage many years down the line either against their former spouse or their estate in the event of their death. There is no guarantee that the parties would be held to the original agreement in the event that one party’s circumstances had changed significantly for example if they had received a large inheritance.
If a long period of time had elapsed since the divorce and the parties had no assets when they divorced the court would not automatically consider the claiming party entitled to a share of any new assets obtained by their former spouse. They would have to show a genuine need and persuade the court that it would be fair on all the circumstances of the case. Even if they were unsuccessful however the other party would no doubt incur significant costs defending the claim.
In order to remove that risk our advice would be even in a very short marriage with limited assets to document your agreement in a consent order and obtain approval of it from the court whereupon, unless the judge has concerns about the fairness of the agreement, it will become legally binding. There is no need for the parties to attend court in these circumstances the draft order and supporting documentation are reviewed in the absence of the parties.
If you require any assistance, or wish to book in for an initial consultation to discuss your situation, our family solicitors are based in Wolverhampton, Cradley Heath and Sutton Coldfield serve clients across the West Midlands. For all new enquiries, please call 01384 340 526 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of our team will respond.