May 2025

When parents or guardians are unable to reach an agreement regarding the care and welfare of their children, a Form C100 can be used to make an application to the Family Court. This application can be used to determine the child’s general living arrangements (by way of a Child Arrangements Order), resolve a specific issue, such as which school the child should attend (by way of a Specific Issue Order) or to prevent one parent from doing something without the other’s consent, such as moving abroad with the child (by way of a Prohibited Steps Order).

When going through a divorce or the dissolution of a civil partnership, one of the essential steps is to divide your assets, including property, savings, and pensions. To formalise this division, you will need to complete a Form A, being an application for a financial order. The same form is used whether you are filing an agreement you have reached between yourselves for the court’s approval (to make that agreement legally binding), or you are asking the court to decide the financial division for you (and therefore starting financial remedy proceedings).

When a Pension Sharing Order is made as part of a divorce or dissolution settlement, it doesn’t just involve the division of pension assets, it also involves costs. These can include court fees, solicitor costs, and administrative charges from the pension provider. A common question is who is responsible for covering these fees.

A Pension Sharing Order is a legally binding document issued by the court as part of a financial settlement in divorce or civil partnership dissolution proceedings. It provides for a percentage of one spouse’s pension to be transferred to the other. Once made final, it is enforceable, and both the parties and the pension provider are expected to comply with its terms. However, there are situations where one or both parties may wish to cancel or amend the order made.

A Pension Sharing Order is a key part of many financial settlements on divorce, ensuring that pensions are fairly divided between spouses. Once the court has approved the order, the obligation then shifts to the pension holding party to provide the relevant information to their pension provider, and then finally to the pension provider itself to effect the transfer. Delays or failures in implementation can cause significant financial and legal issues, depending on the length of the delay, and the further steps needed to rectify matters.

When a marriage ends, dividing the financial assets fairly is a key part of the divorce process, and pensions often represent a valuable proportion of these. A Pension Sharing Order is a legal tool that allows a pension to be divided between spouses. However, there is often confusion about whether such an order can be made after the Final Order in the divorce has been granted.

With the passing of another year came another fantastic away day!