Moving In With a New Partner

I am still going through my divorce but I have moved in with my new partner – will this affect my financial settlement?

Many people assume that when they get divorced, this will automatically separate them from their ex-partner and whatever they brought into the divorce financially, will go with them. This is simply not the case. The divorce procedure is very separate to reaching an agreement regarding the finances. This is often the most time consuming and contentious area of divorce proceedings.

Reaching a financial settlement

Both parties will need to make full and frank disclosure of their finances to each other. It is not uncommon for one spouse to be completely unaware of how much the other spouse has in his bank account, how much their pension is worth, or in some cases how much in debt they are.

To achieve a financial settlement it may be necessary to divide savings and pensions to enable both parties to move forwards. Usually the largest asset to be divided is the family home.

If you are unable to come to an agreement between yourselves about how your finances will be divided, you can use mediation to help you reach an agreement. After you have reached a financial settlement, this can be turned into a court order. This process is separate to the divorce proceedings but they are usually dealt with at the same time, to allow the parties to obtain a financial court order before Decree Absolute is applied for.

If you are unable to reach an agreement, you can ask a judge to decide your divorce financial settlement for you. Asking a court to decide should be considered as a last resort, as it can be a costly and time-consuming process.

Our divorce is amicable – why do I need a court order?

Even after your divorce, you and your ex-spouse can still make financial claims against each other. Circumstances and financial positions can change. This is why it is vital to ensure that you have a court order giving you both “clean break”.

Even if you and your ex-partner do not have any assets, it is still important that you ensure the financial side of things has been finalised.

Whilst many people may feel this is a waste of time and money, the consequences of not doing so may become apparent years later when you least expect it. In the recent case of Wyatt v Vince [2016] Mrs Vince made a financial claim against Mr Wyatt 24 years after their divorce. At the time of the divorce, neither party had any assets, but Mr Wyatt went on to become a multi- millionaire. Mrs Wyatt was awarded £500,000. This serves as a cautionary tale to anyone who decides not to finalise his or her matrimonial finances upon divorce.

Meeting a new partner during divorce proceedings

Parties often meet someone new whilst their divorce and finances are still ongoing. Many people do not realise that, in some circumstances, this new relationship may have a bearing on their financial settlement.

There are no hard and fast rules about how the new relationship will affect finances, and every case will turn on its own individual circumstances.

What the court may consider is:

How long have you been seeing your new partner, and do you live together? If the relationship has been ongoing for example, 2 years, and you both live together, then the relationship is clearly stable and the new partner’s finances are more likely to be considered.

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Do you and your ex spouse have sufficient assets between you to meet your own needs, without considering your new partners’?
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Where there are sufficient funds in the marital pot for both parties to re-house comfortably, it is unlikely that any new partner’s assets will be considered by the Court.
Does the new partner have significant assets?
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If a new partner has no capital, and their income is modest, their financial needs are unlikely to be considered. They can add very little to the financial outcome. However, if your ex-spouse is in a relationship with a multi-millionaire, then their financial situation is far more likely to be considered.

Moving in with a partner after the financial settlement has been finalised could result in your ex-spouse asking to reduce, or even stop, spousal maintenance.

Whether you are already divorced and your financial settlement has been finalised, or you are still going through the process, it may be helpful to seek legal advice regarding the financial implications of cohabiting with a new partner.