What if my ex-partner doesn't pay the lump sum ordered by the court?

Following a Final Order made in divorce financial remedy proceedings, a lump sum may have been ordered to be paid by one party to other as the best way to divide up the assets to conclude the proceedings. 

However, what happens if the party ordered to pay the lump sum does not do so? Enforcement proceedings will need to be issued by the party seeking its enforcement.

The recipient of the lump sum will not doubt be aggrieved by this and want to seek some kind of compensation for the delay. This can be dealt with by way of interest being payable on the lump sum. Under family law legislation, if the lump sum is below £5,000 then interest is not payable. However, sums over this amount are subject to discretionary interest payable by the defaulting party at a standard rate (which is currently at 8% p/a) added on top of the lump sum. The court can order interest to be paid at a higher or lower rate with justification. This begins accruing from the date the lump sum became payable (usually by a date specified in the final order or from the date of the final order of divorce, whichever is later).

If you are awaiting a lump sum due to you from an ex-partner pursuant to court order following divorce, get in contact with our family law solicitors who are based in Wolverhampton, Cradley Heath and Sutton Coldfield serve clients across the West Midlands. For all new enquiries, please call 01902 328 365 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of our team will respond.