Divorce - Do You Know Fact From Myth?

DIVORCE DO YOU KNOW FACT FROM MYTH? Common myths and misconceptions about divorce debunked. .MYTH We aren't married but I am his common law wife as we've been together a long time and have children. I have rights as if we were married - everything should be split 50/50. Cohabitees/unmarried couples do not have the same rights as married spouses, no matter how long they have been together or if they have children. ..MYTH He/she will get a reduced share of the assets as they were to blame for the breakdown of the marriage. The division of marital assets is completely separate from how the marriage broke down. It is extremely rare for a court to be interested in whose fault the break-up was. .BOTH MYTHS He won't see the kids if he doesn't pay child maintenance or she won't let me see the kids so I'm not paying child maintenance. An absent parent is under a duty to pay child maintenance whether or not he or she sees their children. A parent has the right to see his or her children whether or not they pay child maintenance. .MYTH I wasn't unfaithful as we were already separated. Adultery means having a sexual relationship with a person other than your spouse while still married to them regardless of whether you are separated from them. .MYTH He/she aren't entitled to my assets because they are in my sole name. As long as the marriage was not extremely short, almost everything owned by both the spouses, whether in sole names or joint names will be viewed as a matrimonial asset. ..MYTH We divided our assets between ourselves and obtained our divorce/decree absolute from the court so my ex-spouse has no claims on anything I have post divorce. Financial claims for spouses remain live until a financial settlement has been determined by the court or approved in a clean break consent order following agreement between the spouses. .MYTH The debt is in joint names but never spent the money so I won't be liable to repay it. If a credit card bill is in joint names, then the credit card company has the right to come after both of you or one of you for the money until the debt is paid. The court does not have the power to remove a person's name from debt, regardless of who spent the money. MYTH He/she wont be able to touch my pension. The court has the power to split pension funds to create two new, completely separate pension funds. Factors which govern how it is split include whether the fund was built up during the marriage and how much it is worth. THE HARD FACTS Important information everyone should know before filing for divorce. GROUND S for T DIVORCE * Different DIVORCE TYPES 8 Adultery DIY Collaborative Lawyer to Lawyer Negotiations 8 Unreasonable Behaviour Law Arbitration Mediation Court * Desertion 8 Separation of 2 years or more with consent 8 Separation of 5 years or more (no consent required) THE DIVORCE P-R 0-C E-S S The average time for a divorce is between five to eight months. Application for divorce is filed. Documents are checked and processed by the Court. Documents are posted to the other party (this can take up to 4 weeks). If the respondent wants to defend the divorce, (5) they have 28 days to file an Answer document. Acknowledgement is received by the court (this takes around 3 weeks to process). Once processed a statement in support of divorce is sent to the Petitioner. 8) Statement in support of divorce is completed by the Petitioner usually with the help of a Solicitor and lodged at court. The judge decides whether to grant decree of divorce, called the Decree Nisi. The date of the Decree Nisi is the earliest date a financial agreement contained in a Consent Order can be filed at court for approval. A date for the Decree Nisi is arranged if the judge (10) is satisfied with the grounds for divorce. The Decree Nisi is pronounced by the Court. The second and final decree of divorce is applied for, called the Decree Absolute. Earliest date Decree (12) Absolute can be applied for is 6 weeks and1 day after date of Decree Nisi. The Decree Absolute application (13 is made to the court. Once the court has received the Decree Absolute, both parties are legally divorced and able to re-marry, should they wish to do so. DAVIS BLANK:FURNISS © Copyright 2014 All rights reserved