No Fault Divorce – Does This Change Financial Settlements

Author: Alexandra Funnell. Co-Head of Family Department, Partner.

Alexandra is a member of Resolution First for Family Law and also a member of the Law Society’s Family Law Accreditation Scheme.

A No Fault Divorce does not automatically end a couple’s financial commitments to each other. You will still need to resolve financial matters and child arrangements.

A party’s financial claims against the other remain open even after a Final Divorce Order (previously called Decree Absolute) is made. If you do not obtain a Financial Remedy Order then the financial claims you have against each other remain open. This is not satisfactory because it leaves the possibility of the other party making a claim against you at any time in the future.

We can assist you in reaching a resolution of the financial matters and to achieve the right outcome for you and your family. Once the finances have been agreed or decided by the Court the agreement or terms of the Order are incorporated into a Financial Remedy Order. The Financial Remedy Order, once approved by the Judge and sealed by the Court, is final and binding and neither party can then make any further claims against the other, at any time into the future.

It is important that the finances are dealt with at the same time as the Divorce proceedings and the minimum period of 20 weeks between Conditional Divorce Order (previously called Decree Nisi) and Final Divorce Order (previously called Decree Absolute) can be used by the parties to deal with the finances.

The new No Fault Divorce law comes into force on 6 April 2022.

Look out for our next legal update ‘No Fault Divorce – free initial appointment’

Please see our most recent post : No Fault Divorce – Do I need a Solicitor?

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Please note the above is for information purposes only and is intended to be a short summary.  It should not be treated as a comprehensive guide and should not be acted on without qualified legal advice.