Financial needs on divorce
Edition 2 – April 2018
The Family Justice Council has now published the second edition of this guide that is aimed at the family judiciary, courts and legal advisers. Since the publication of the first edition in June 2016, the guidance has established itself as an invaluable resource in relation to the drafting of orders to meet financial needs following divorce and the dissolution of civil partnerships.
The guide follows on from a Law commission report which confirms that there are very significant regional disparities and inconsistencies in financial orders made depending on your geographical area.
The guidance confirms that in most cases, the main needs that we are concerned with are housing needs.
Need is measured by the assessment of available financial resources.
Also, by assessing the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage.
Generally, unless there are very significant resources, following a divorce, you can expect/ will be expected to suffer some reduction in the standard of living.
At the end of the report in the annex there are some very useful examples of the types of financial orders that may be made. There is also a list of relevant case law.