|
SHARING THE MATRIMONIAL/PARTNERSHIP PROPERTY
Introduction
What is the matrimonial/partnership property?
How is it shared?
What if there are assets which are not matrimonial/partnership property?
Introduction
The law says that when marriage ends in divorce or a civil partnership in dissolution, the matrimonial/partnership property should be shared fairly between the couple. When an application is made to the court for the divorce or dissolution, either party can ask the court for orders to achieve this fair sharing. This could be payment of a sum of money known as a capital sum, a transfer of property such as the matrimonial/partnership home, or a pension share.
What is the matrimonial/partnership property?
This comprises all assets owned by a couple, whether individually or
jointly, at the date of separation, which have been acquired
during the marriage/civil partnership other than by way of gift or succession from
a third party. So anything which you owned before the marriage/civil partnership or which
you acquired after the date of separation is not included. However,
a house or household furnishings acquired by one or both of you before
the marriage/civil partnership may, in certain circumstances, be included.
How are these assets shared?
The sharing exercise involves five steps:-
- Establishing
the date of separation
The date of separation is the date on which a couple start
to live apart from each other. See Separation
- Establishing
what assets were in existence at that time
These usually include
a house, furniture and furnishings, a car, endowment policies, other
forms of investment and pension rights. Any outstanding
liabilities (mortgage, car finance, personal loans, credit card debts
etc) have to be deducted to produce a total net value as at the date
of separation.
- Establishing which
of those assets form part of the matrimonial/partnership property
This step involves looking at the individual assets and seeing the
circumstances in which they were acquired, for example whether
they were
owned by either party before the marriage or were gifted or
inherited.
- Establishing the value of those assets as at the date of separation
Most
assets can be valued fairly easily, for example a house by a Chartered
Surveyor, an endowment policy by asking the insurance company for a surrender
value, etc.
Special rules apply to endowment policies and pensions. If
the policy or pension started before the marriage/civil partnership, the separation date
value will have to be apportioned.
- Sharing those assets “fairly”
The law says that
these should be shared equally unless there are “special
circumstances“. This might be where an asset was acquired
using inherited money.
What if there are assets which are not matrimonial/partnership property?
These don't have to be shared, but they are resources which can be taken
into account, as any award made by the court must be “reasonable
having regard to the resources of the parties.”
As well as sharing the matrimonial/partnership property, the court can also order
payment of a capital sum, a transfer of property or a pension share to
reflect the unequal burden of childcare which can arise on divorce, or
to compensate one of the couple for economic disadvantage sustained by
him / her in the interests of the other or the family.
The legal information contained in this site is not comprehensive, nor
should it be treated as a substitute for specific legal advice on any
individual situation.
Back to top
|
|