You may be concerned about ensuring your or your children’s needs are met, maintaining your lifestyle or protecting your wealth. You might wish to avoid contentious court proceedings or feel that robust action is needed to ensure you are treated fairly.
Whatever your circumstances, the highly experienced team at Brethertons can support you. Where appropriate, we can negotiate a settlement with your spouse, but we can also use options such as Financial Dispute Resolution to swiftly reach a settlement. If court proceedings are needed, we can be by your side every step of the way.
No matter how difficult your situation might seem, we are here to make sure you get the best outcome from your divorce, so you can have the future you deserve.
Our high net worth divorce solicitors can help with:
- Division of assets
- Spousal maintenance
- Child maintenance
- Concerns about hidden wealth
We can also advise on all other aspects of divorce and separation.
Why choose Brethertons high net worth divorce lawyers?
- Our expertise is independently recognised with Band 1 ranking in Family/Matrimonial Law by Chambers & Partners and Tier 1 ranking for Family Law from the Legal 500
- We are accredited by the Law Society for Family Law and Family Law Advanced
- Our team has specific expertise with high net worth divorce, including ultra high net worth divorce
- We can help clients across England and Wales over the phone, via email and videoconferencing, as well as face-to-face where appropriate
- Our advice is straightforward and jargon-free, making sure you are clear about your rights, options and all of the ways your divorce might affect your situation
Our high net worth divorce services
Division of assets
When considering financial arrangements in divorce, people often assume that each spouse will be entitled to half of the couple’s combined assets. While this is the starting point under the law in England and Wales, in reality, things are rarely so straightforward. There are many different factors that can affect what each person is entitled to, so expert advice and support is essential.
Our team can provide expert assistance with the division of assets for high net worth individuals in the UK and their spouses. We can advise on your entitlements and help you to reach a settlement amicably where possible. With our support, we can help you to achieve a fair division of assets that meets your needs.
Spousal maintenance
A common facet of high net worth divorce settlements is some form of spousal maintenance. This is where the party with higher income or assets makes ongoing payments to their former spouse to help them meet their needs. Spousal maintenance is not always appropriate and, where it is, it must be calculated very carefully.
We can advise on whether spousal maintenance may be appropriate for your circumstances, then assist with negotiating a sensible amount or securing a court order for spousal maintenance.
Child maintenance
Parents are legally required to provide for their children with a standard formula for working out basic child maintenance. However, in high net worth cases, there are often additional costs to consider, such as school fees. It can, therefore, often be beneficial to have expert support to make sure your children’s full needs are being met.
Our team can advise you on basic child maintenance entitlements, as well as how any additional costs should be covered. We can then get the necessary agreements in place and support you if child maintenance ever needs to be varied in future.
Concerns about hidden wealth
A common concern during divorces where there are high value assets is that one of the parties may be attempting to hide their wealth. If this is a concern, it is possible to apply to a court for a freezing order to prevent assets being moved or disposed of, as well as for an order to disclose relevant financial information.
We can support you with applying for these court orders to help make sure your spouse’s full assets are uncovered and considered as part of your divorce.
High net worth divorce FAQs
What is a high net worth divorce?
There is no universally accepted definition of a high net worth divorce. In general, it will refer to a divorce where there are substantial assets to consider above and beyond those that most couples might have, such as the family home.
High net worth divorces often include those where there are very high incomes, high value business assets, multiple properties, international assets, trusts, investments and other high value assets.
What is considered a high net worth divorce in the UK?
Again, there is no set definition, although some people in the UK refer to any divorce where the assets of one or both of the spouses will exceed their combined needs as high net worth.
Do you have to go to court for a high net worth divorce?
You may assume that you would need to go to court to get the highest divorce settlement possible or to protect your assets. While it is true that many high net worth divorces do end up in court, it is often possible to avoid this by agreeing a settlement voluntarily or using a process such as financial dispute resolution (FDR).
Whether court proceedings will likely be required or not will depend very much on your individual circumstances and what you want to achieve. This is something our team will be happy to discuss with you.
How does financial dispute resolution for divorce work?
Financial dispute resolution (FDR) is a process divorcing couples can use as a means to attempt to agree on the division of their assets amicably.
The process involves a hearing in front of a judge who will hear each spouse’s case for what they think the division of assets should look like. The judge’s role is to act as a mediator, supporting the couple to negotiate a financial settlement. The judge may also provide a non-binding opinion on how they think the couple’s assets should be divided if requested to.
Where the parties are able to agree a settlement, then they can sign a consent order, making the settlement legally binding. If they cannot agree a settlement, then further court proceedings may be required where a judge will decide the settlement.
How can I protect my assets in divorce?
If there are specific assets you wish to protect in a divorce, reaching a financial settlement may be the best way to do so. This is because a negotiated settlement can allow you to ringfence certain assets, such as your business or pension, in exchange for giving your spouse a greater share of other assets you are less concerned about.
What you must not do is attempt to hide any assets you wish to protect as you are legally required to disclose all assets during divorce proceedings. Failure to do so could have serious consequences.
Consult our high net worth divorce solicitors in Banbury, Bicester and Rugby
To speak to our high net worth divorce lawyers today, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We have offices in Banbury, Bicester and Rugby, working with clients across Coventry and Warwickshire, the West Midlands, Oxfordshire and nationwide.
