Financial Issues

There are a number of financial issues that can arise in a separation.

  • Reaching agreement as to what is separate vs relationship property
  • Settling relationship property, including situations where assets are part of a business or in a trust, or when a pre-nuptial agreement has been in place
  • Economic disparity (which may lead to the relationship property not being divided equally)
  • Protecting your assets before settlement
  • Spousal maintenance
  • Child support

Why Jeremy Sutton?

Jeremy Sutton is a specialist divorce lawyer, with many years of experience in handling unique and complex financial situations.We are skilled negotiators and will focus on achieving a successful and timely resolution of your issues. Often our clients prefer negotiation to settle their financial issues as it is the most cost effective method and helps to maintain good relationships with their former spouse and family.If agreement cannot be reached and your case progresses to a Court hearing, rest assured we have a proven track record for achieving successful outcomes for our clients in the Family Court and in the High Court.For more information please download our free e-book, Financial Issues in Divorce, and see the articles below. Jeremy can provide consultations either in person or via Skype.

Can I force my ex to pay half of the mortgage payments?

If you are struggling to make these payments, you may want to consider asking your bank to pay interest only while you resolve relationship property matters. There are consequences for this, obviously, but you can talk these through with your bank. It may also help to draw up a budget of your income and outgoings when looking at matters going forward. We would be happy to meet with you and discuss all of these issues further.

Moving out of the Family home and the bills...who pays?

If one person moves out of a home that is jointly owned in a relationship, are they still responsible to pay for half of the household bills like the mortgage, power, insurance after they leave?There are three issues to address here:

  1. Partner with no kids in the homeNormally the partner may be expected to pay their own expenses in the family home. This depends on their income compared to the partner moving out and other issues. Is there a mortgage on the home? How long is this occupation going to be for?
  2. Partner with kids still in the family homeThis is normally an exception to point one above. If you have children in the home under 16, then the Family Court will most likely be more lenient in the event that you or your partner are not contributing toward those expenses as the person who moves out must find another residence. However, if your case is one where spousal maintenance will be ordered, contributing toward those expenses can be considered part of that and can avoid or reduce any alleged expenses in the future. Find a specialist lawyer as soon as possible to discuss.

CreditorsThe first is the obligation to your creditors, and the second is the obligation for you or your partner to continue paying the bills.You are equally liable in the eyes of the creditors for the the bills to be paid, unless you are able to transfer things like the utilities out of your name. Obviously, if your partner does not make these payments and you are still technically liable, your credit will be harmed. The bank deals with these cases all the time and may be flexible.Possible options:

  1. Seek a Mortgage holiday
  2. Seek an interest only mortgage
  3. Talk to family members for support
  4. Get a flatmate into the house?

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