When you are divorced, your spouse continues to have the right to make claims against you for money or property, unless you get a Clean Break Order. Divorce settlements will often include maintenance for one of the spouses, maintenance for children, division of capital, adjustment to ownership of property or other assets and even sharing of pension schemes.
While the divorce ends the contract of marriage, it does not necessarily stop a former spouse from asking the Court to make an Order for you to pay them money at a later date. If you win the lottery, inherit a fortune or buy a property with a new partner, these investments are not necessarily protected. Ex-spouses can still apply for money and property years after the divorce has been settled.
When courts make these kinds of arrangements, plans can be made for money to be paid as a lump sum, a share of assets or property, income, or even pensions. This is why it is important to have an agreement about money in your divorce, and to ask the court to formally dismiss the right of the spouse to attempt to get more money from their ex-partner.
This is called a Clean Break Order or Clean Break Agreement, and it is intended to end all financial claims between spouses. Once the order is made, the court refuses to hear any further claims that the spouses may have.
Clean Breaks are only suitable if there are no children to be provided for under the age of 18 years. Similarly a clean break order is unsuitable when the parties find it difficult to end their financial ties, for example if the value of their home failed to leave either spouse with enough to set up a new home.
Courts deal with divorce settlements on an individual basis, and the main aim is eliminating financial ties while also ensuring that any offspring are prioritised. Couples who can reach agreement between themselves will be most rewarded by the independent decision being made by the courts.
If you are getting divorced and don't want it to haunt you in years to come, then ensure that you apply for a clean break order, to make financial planning more predictable and reliable in the future. Once the CD collection has been divided and ownership of property has been sorted out, most divorcees want to forget all about related financial matters, and that's why Clean Break Orders are so desirable.
John Mce writes on a number of divorce-related subjects, including clean break orders, divorce settlement and consent order.
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