7 Red Flags when going through a divorce and resolving your finances
How much maintenance should you pay or receive?
If you have children, the court will be guided by the equivalent rate of an assessment by the Child Maintenance Commission. With spousal maintenance, the court will look at the way your family circumstances and finances were structured in the past and what is needed, and how much you or your spouse can afford to pay.
All agreed without solicitors?
You still need a court order recording the financial agreement. To give you the best possible protection, you should instruct a solicitor to draft this document for you.
Tax implications
You may have to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on the disposal or transfer of assets between you and your spouse – this can be for a considerable amount, and you may need financial planning advice on the most tax-efficient way to proceed with your financial settlement.
What can you do if your spouse is spending excessively and disposing of assets?
You may need to take urgent action such as obtaining an injunction or registering restrictions on those assets to stop them from being sold before a financial settlement is reached.
Claims to add money back into bank accounts for money that has been excessively spent are difficult to sustain
You should not rely on being successful to make an “add back” claim.
You should consider getting a joint expert to advise upon how best to share pensions
You need to obtain the transfer value of all pension schemes and consider whether an equal interest in the capital or income is appropriate. In order to achieve an equal interest, your or your spouse’s interest is not necessarily equal to 50% as it will depend upon the type of pension scheme you have and the benefits it will attract.
Multi-national marriages
Depending upon your nationalities, either you or your spouse may be able to issue divorce proceedings in another country. This should be explored at the outset to determine in which country it would be in your best interest to issue the proceedings.