Penny for your thoughts  reaching a financial separation in divorceReaching a financial separation in divorce is the thing that causes most people the greatest amount of fear and worry. After the initial emotional impact that a marriage or relationship has no other option than to finish, the fear of how you will each survive in this difficult economic climate usually follows almost immediately.

You and your partner have a few options available to you to achieve this financial separation.

Option 1) Contact your local family solicitor and use them to work through the Form E disclosure process (the process of working out exactly what you and your partner have in terms of assets to be divided). In the majority of cases, an agreed schedule of assets is arrived at within 3 to 6 months.

Once this agreed schedule of assets has been achieved, your solicitors will attempt to negotiate and reach a financial settlement. If they ultimately are not able to do this on your behalves, they will apply to the court and a judge will make the decision for you. This will take from 9 months and 5 years costs between £5,000 and £50,000 each depending on a number of different factors (such as your specific solicitor’s hourly rate).

Option 2) Utilise family mediation to take you through the same process. In mediation a more efficient disclosure process is used as well as the manner in which the disclosure material is gathered. These changes in process mean that you and your former partner can usually agree a schedule of assets within 4 weeks.

Once agreed schedule of assets has been reached, your mediator will take you through the process of reaching a financial settlement. In the majority of cases, this is achieved within a further 6 weeks and from New Landscape Mediation’s offices on the Herts/Essex Border or in central London, will almost always cost less than £2000.00 each in total.

For more information about a better way of achieving financial separation in divorce, please call our offices on 01279 211657 for a free, no obligation discussion of your needs.