It is a common misconception that getting divorced ends your involvement with your ex forever.
Nicola Whitley, specialist family Solicitor, looks at the reality of divorce.
When parties divorce, they are no longer married. There is no obligation to live together and they are both free to marry other people. However, when parties separate and then commence divorce proceedings their financial claims against each other open up.
What does this mean?
It means that once divorce proceedings have commenced both parties are able to consider how the finances of the marriage should be divided between them.
In the majority of cases, people will sort this out whilst they are going through their separation. It is often more practical to do so, for example, to make sure they both have somewhere to live and that they have enough money to feed the children. But what happens when neither party takes any action?
So long as you do not re-marry, your claims remain open until they are dismissed. A recent case in the Supreme Court has reminded us that there is no time limit on when claims have to be made.
In the case of Wyatt v Vince the parties had separated some 27 years previously. They had only been married for 3 years. When they separated, neither of them had any money and, one can only assume, they just did not bother dismissing their claims against each other as they had nothing to pursue. In the 27 years since separation, the husband was very successful and became worth millions. The wife issued her financial application 27 years after separation.
So what happened?
The Court of Appeal had considered it to be an abuse of process to issue an application so late. However, the Supreme Court found that she was perfectly entitled to make the application. This was not without criticism though and the word of warning seemed to be that her case has been brought very late in the day.
Who does this apply to?
Anyone who has been divorced and financial matters were never settled, or more importantly dismissed. Act sooner, rather than later.
Did you get a court order regarding finances when you divorced?
Did you reach an agreement but not incorporate it into a legally binding document?
What this case has highlighted is the importance of getting everything sorted out when the divorce goes through, especially if your circumstances could change in the future.
If you wish to discuss your specific circumstances and what we can do to assist you, contact our team today: 023 92492967
The post Divorce is not the end of the matter – financial claim 27 years on appeared first on Swain & Co Solicitors LLP.