Ancillary Relief PDF Print E-mail
What is it?
Ancillary relief is a legal term used to describe the financial orders within divorce and judicial separation proceedings. If you or your opponent has applied to the court for a divorce or judicial separation the court can make orders about:

Maintenance payments between spouses.
Transferring property.
Ordering the sale of property and division of the net proceeds the sale.
Transferring lump sums of money and other assets.
Compensation for the loss of pension rights and other pension orders.
Financial Information In ancillary relief cases a lot of financial information is required from both parties. Solicitors and ultimately the judge cannot give advice or make an order without full knowledge of both parties’ financial affairs. If an agreement or order is made and then it is discovered that one party deliberately withheld relevant information, the agreement or order can then be overturned.

As everything turns on financial disclosure, it makes sense to try and have full disclosure between the parties as early as possible in the case. You, the client, have to do a lot of information gathering and work with your legal advisor to make sure that, as much information has been disclosed as early as possible. Not only is this essential in order to provide the information, it helps keep costs down. The Financial information is then incorporated in to a Form E. Both parties complete this form and it is mutually exchanged so that the parties can see what each others needs are and begin to look at how best to divide the matrimonial assets and or debts.

If the parties can agree how the assets of the marriage should be divided, an order known as a consent order can be drawn up by the solicitors and submitted to the court for approval.

If however no agreement can be reached with regards to the Matrimonial assets, the matter will need to go to court for a Judge to decide how the assets should be divided.


What Factors does the court take into consideration in the division of the assets?

The court when considering what, if any financial orders should be made in an ancillary relief case, have to take into account a number of factors listed in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. First consideration is always given to the welfare whilst a minor of any child of the family who is under 18.
The other factors are:

i. The income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources either party to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future. This includes the earning capacity which the court considers it is reasonable for a party to the marriage to take steps to acquire.

ii. The financial needs, obligations and responsibilities which each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future.

iii. The standard living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage.
iv. The age of each party to the marriage and the duration of the marriage.

v. Any mental or physical disability of either of the parties to the marriage.

vi. The contributions which each of the parties has made or is likely in the foreseeable future to make to the welfare of the family, including any contribution by looking after home or caring for the family.

vii. The conduct of each of the parties, if that conduct is such that it would be in the opinion of the court be inequitable to disregard it; and in proceedings for divorce or nullity the value to each party of any benefit they may lose on the dissolution of the marriage, for example a pension. The court is under a duty to consider ending one parties financial obligation to the other after the breakdown of the marriage. This is known as a clean break and would mean that there would be no continuing financial relationship between the parties.

Who can apply for ancillary relief?
Either spouse. The petitioner usually makes an automatic initial application in the petition. However, both the petitioner and the respondent have to file another form, a Form A to start the ancillary relief case and bring the matter in front of the courts.
 
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