A Clean Break Order is a court order that concludes all financial ties between a divorcing couple.
However, although a Clean Break is desirable in most cases, it is not always possible to achieve. The longer the two of you have been together and the greater the difference in financial stability between you after the divorce, the less likely it is that you’ll get a Clean Break Divorce.
If you are going through a divorce and want legal advice to protect your assets in the future, or if you are already divorced and you want to put these protections in place after the event, our specialist family lawyers will be happy to answer your questions and recommend the best course of action for your circumstances.
People often find this whole area of divorce law quite confusing so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need help.
This is a very common question. If you need any clarification on what’s right for you, contact our experienced divorce solicitors for a free initial consultation. We’ll be happy to help.
A financial order is an agreement about how you will divide your property and assets after a divorce.
During the divorce proceedings, you will need to reach an agreement one way or another about how to divide the family’s property and assets. However you end up reaching this agreement, whether you do it yourselves, through mediation or in court, it is important that your agreement is approved by the family court and becomes a legally binding financial order.
The financial order will also include a paragraph that prevents either party from making a financial claim against the other in the future.
A clean break may be part of your financial order but it may not.
If you still have an ongoing financial obligation to each other somehow, maybe the house will be sold at a later date, for example, you may not be able to achieve a clean break order right away.
A clean break order severs all financial ties between the couple.
A clean break divorce is generally seen as a good thing. It allows both parties to move on with their lives free from any financial obligations to or from the other person.
In practice, this means that there cannot be a clean break if one party will continue to make financial provision for the other after the divorce. To address this, family courts have been implementing more fixed-term spousal maintenance payments in recent years. When the term expires a clean break can then be achieved.
Clean Break Orders are particularly useful in situations where the marriage lasted for only a few years, and the parties can live financially independent of the other. If both people are working and any capital or other assets can be split fairly between them, it is more likely that a clean break can be made.
In simple terms, if the following things are true you would have a clean break divorce:
If you’d like to speak to a divorce solicitor about your personal circumstances and get some free initial advice please get in touch using the phone number at the top of this page or using the online enquiry form.
For a clean break order to be possible, it is necessary to be able to separate all the financial attachments that were made during the marriage. This is rarely as simple as it might sound, but there are several techniques we can use to achieve it.
This is why it is essential to talk through your options with an experienced solicitor.
The experienced Divorce Solicitors at PSR Solicitors will be happy to look at your situation and advise you accordingly.
A clean break order makes it clear that neither of you will make a financial claim against the other in the future.
This extends to Wills and the ability to contest a Will. If a Clean Break Order was not obtained at the time of divorce then the ex-spouse could challenge a Will made after the divorce.
A simple clean break order prevents any financial claim either of you may have against the other, now or at any time in the future. You are guaranteeing that there will be no nasty surprises down the line.
Due to the inherent time limits on child maintenance payments, their existence in a financial settlement does not mean that a clean break divorce cannot be achieved. Child maintenance payments are required by law until the child reaches 21 or leaves full-time education, whichever comes first.
In this case, it may be possible to get a 'Deferred Clean Break Order' which will become active once certain conditions have been fulfilled i.e. the children reach the age of 21.
There is no such thing as a clean break to dismiss all future financial claims between a parent and a child.
Usually, the court will not get involved in child maintenance unless it is an amicable decision that has been put into an Order that the court has been asked to approve.
Child maintenance is usually dealt with under the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) as this provides a more flexible approach than it being in a court-approved order and makes it possible to take into account a change in circumstances without having to go back to court.
In most cases, the best advice is not to leave financial settlements for another day.
To find out what the best course of action is for you, pick up the phone and talk to us about it. We’ll be happy to help.
Nobody knows what the future may hold.
There are several high profile examples of people, with relatively modest assets at the time of a divorce, coming into significant wealth later in life. As there was no clean break order in place, the ex-spouse has then successfully claimed a portion of this new money. Even if it was acquired many years later.
If an agreement has been made between the parties, we are able to draft an order for a fixed fee £250 +VAT and a court fee of £50.
We are unable to advise whether an agreement that has been reached between you was in your best interests without having full financial information from both parties.
If you wish to instruct us in negotiations, our fees will be higher than previously mentioned. Our fees would depend on the amount of work carried out by the solicitor. We will be able to provide an estimate as to costs once when have taken instructions.
For expert legal advice tailored to your particular circumstances, you need to speak to a solicitor experienced in this area of law.
Established in 2009, we have become the family solicitors of choice for clients in Wrexham, Ellesmere Port and North Wales area delivering a truly exceptional legal service within local communities.
Our friendly team will immediately put you at your ease and will explain everything in a clear straight-forward way, keeping you informed at all stages, to help minimise your stress and concern.
You can contact us today, safe in the knowledge that one of our dedicated Divorce Solicitors will handle your case with care and attention to detail.
We offer a first, free consultation over the phone or in-person with no-obligation, with our Clean Break Divorce Lawyers in Wrexham, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay, Shotton (Deeside) and in Cheshire (Ellesmere Port).
Contact us today by calling the number at the top of this page or by leaving your contact details using the enquiry form.
We regularly act for clients getting a divorce across North Wales, Cheshire, Merseyside, and Liverpool. As recognised divorce law experts we can support your needs wherever you live in Wales, England & Northern Ireland.
We will respond to any query within one hour of normal office hours, or the next working day if you contact us during the evening or at the weekend.
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