Divorce and division of property in the UK

According to statistics, more than 40% of marriages in the UK end in divorce. Everyone can face this unpleasant process, so it is better to take care of the future and study in advance all the issues related to divorce and the subsequent division of property. What is a prenuptial agreement? How much will the divorce process cost? How to conclude a settlement agreement? We will answer these and other questions in our material.

Marriage

For your marriage to be lawful, it must comply with all the procedures and obligations of the country where it was contracted. If the marriage is legal in another country, then there is no need to confirm it in the UK.

Marriage contract

A prenuptial agreement in the UK is made with the help of a solicitor and does not need to be notarised. An agreement or prenuptial agreement is valid if it is made with the written consent of both parties, without the use of deceit, violence or threats. Each of the partners, having previously obtained the necessary legal advice, supported by a certificate, must clearly understand the legal consequences of signing the contract.

Certificates of counselling are attached to the prenuptial agreement.

Before proceeding to the execution of the marriage contract, the future spouses are obliged to fully disclose all information about their funds, available real estate. If this information is deliberately concealed by one of the partners, then the court has the right to revise the contract.

There are two types of agreements. The first one is made before the marriage is registered. The second one is made after the marriage has already been registered.

The court cannot hold the spouses liable for failure to honour a prenuptial agreement, as there is no liability for this type of breach in UK law.

Dissolution of marriage

A divorce in England and Wales is possible if the duration of the marriage is more than a year. When you file a divorce document with the court, you must provide evidence that the spouses are not living as a family. Let’s look at the most common reasons for divorce:

• Adultery. Only the fact of sexual relations of one of the couple with a stranger can serve as a proof of adultery. But if having learnt about adultery spouses continue to live together for six months, then for the court it will not serve as a fact of adultery at which it is possible to divorce a married couple;
• Inappropriate behaviour. This is grounds for legal proceedings, as it makes it impossible for the couple to live together. Examples of inappropriate behaviour: regular verbal abuse, physical harm to the spouse, dependence on alcohol, use of drugs;
• The spouse has left the family. If one partner leaves the family without justification and without the consent of the other spouse, then this can be a reason to file for divorce. But the reason is justified if your spouse has not been living with you for the last 2 – 3 years;
• Spouses are living apart. If you have been separated from your spouse by mutual consent for more than 2 years, you can apply for a divorce with your partner’s written consent;
• If the partners have been separated for more than 5 years. If the partners have been separated for more than 5 years, then each of them can apply to the court for a divorce.

Divorce proceedings

Divorce in the UK takes different lengths of time and depends on the complexity of the case. In cases where one partner challenges the validity of the other’s actions, this also affects the length of the process.

First, a divorce petition is filed. For the court to accept one partner’s application for divorce, a number of requirements must be met:

• When applying to the court, the reason for the dissolution of the marriage must be clearly stated;
• If the spouse refuses to defend against the charges, then the partner who has filed for divorce is provided with a decree of preliminary judgement, confirming that the court has no reason not to grant the divorce at this stage. If the other party decides to defend themselves in court against the charges, then the partner still has the right to apply to the court for a preliminary decree;
• After 42 days of receiving the decree of preliminary decree, the partner who petitioned the court for divorce can petition the court for a final, enforceable decree that ends your marital relationship officially.

Expenses

There are three options for litigation:

1. Litigation deals with a case where the spouses have no children and the parties come to a mutual agreement on the division of finances and all property.

2. There are children and property, but there is complete agreement on all issues.

3. The court process deals with a contentious case that concerns the division of property and child custody (their living with one or the other partner, upbringing, maintenance and the time they can spend with one or the other parent).

If partners are unable to agree out of court on the division of property and entitlement to children, then this leads to increased legal costs. A simple court case can cost between £10000 and £14000. The final sum depends on the number of issues considered during the court hearings regarding monetary payments, the size of the marital estate, etc.

For more complex disputes between the parties, at the preliminary stage, when the necessary documents are prepared and then the hearing takes place, the cost of legal support will average between £8000 and £10000 for each spouse. By the end of the process, the amount spent on legal costs can reach over £80,000.

The majority of legal costs are incurred by litigation law firms, divorce attorneys representing each party’s interests in court.

Division of property

During divorce proceedings, the UK court takes many factors into account when dividing property. There are certain circumstances that the court will take into account when making a decision.

The main thing in court proceedings in property disputes for the court is to preserve the interests of the minor child. Therefore, as a rule, the court, by its decision, transfers the immovable property that is the subject of the dispute to the party with whom the child remains after the divorce.

The court, based on the needs of the parties, tries to divide property and assets in the most equitable way. When dividing property, the court analyses and takes into account the annual earnings of each party, their prospects for promotion, the state of the business (if any) and other aspects.

In order to preserve the principle of restitution in the course of the case, the following are taken into account when the court makes its decision: the age of both parties, the length of time they have lived together, the emotional bond between the spouses, and the physical and mental condition of each party.

The court carefully analyses the contribution that each spouse made before the dissolution of the marriage. In this case, the care of the household and the children is an equal contribution as the financial support of the family.

The court also takes into account the possible loss of each party’s ability to maintain their earnings in the event of the dissolution of the marriage. A prime example is when one of the parties loses his or her survivor’s pension upon dissolution of marriage.