Amina and Pierre met at university and got married just after they graduated. They both started work within the financial services industry. They soon realised that they were just not getting along and took the very difficult decision to divorce two and a half years after they were married.

Both of them had very bright futures within their companies but, being relatively junior, their incomes were not substantial and so they had very little to spare each month after paying their rent and bills. Even though there were no assets to divide, Amina felt very strongly that a formal clean break settlement should be put in place to give her and Pierre peace of mind that there would be no financial claim by either of them in future.

How we helped

Amina came to us and we gave her advice as to how she could commence divorce proceedings on the basis of Pierre’s unreasonable behaviour. We wrote to Pierre in very amicable terms and suggested a formula of words for the divorce documentation, which he was content to accept. Once we had helped Amina lodge the correct documents at court to get the divorce underway, we put together a clean break consent order on her behalf. This simply provided that neither party would have any financial claim against the other’s property, pensions or income or against their estate if they were to die. We liaised with Amina and with Pierre’s solicitors to complete a short form of financial disclosure – known as a Statement of Information. This document is required by the court so that it can check that the financial settlement the parties propose – in this case a complete clean break – is fair in all the circumstances.

Once the decree nisi had been granted in the divorce proceedings, we sent the clean break consent order and completed Statement of Information to court. It took a few weeks for the papers to be processed by the court. However, the consent order was duly stamped by the judge without either party having to attend court in person. Once the consent order had been approved by the court, Amina instructed us to apply for the decree absolute on her behalf. This was important for two reasons. First, the decree absolute is the final stage in the divorce process, after which the parties are then ‘divorced’ and able to remarry if they choose. Secondly, the granting of the decree absolute brings the clean break consent order into force, ensuring that neither party has any further financial obligation towards the other and bringing to an end the potential for financial claims in future.

The result

Although Amina found the process very sad, she was pleased that everything was dealt with amicably and efficiently, allowing her to draw a line under an important stage in her life, safe in the knowledge that the financial aspects of her divorce had been resolved decisively.

NB: All of our case studies here are based on real life clients and their experiences. However, due to the sensitive nature of the work we do, all names and some factual details have been amended to protect the privacy of our clients.