Can Redundancy Pay Be Used In Divorce Settlement?

Q.Our decree absolute was granted in December 2008 - the 'minutes of agreement and order sought' state that if not contested (which they were not) the order would be accepted in "full and final satisfaction of all claims for income, capital and pension sharing orders and any other nature whatsover..... save in relation to personal belongings and contents" There are no children involved

My ex-wife and I are (amicably) trying to sort the sale of the matrimonal home given the current state of the market. I made a suggestion as to resolution and now have a letter from her solicitor disagreeing with my suggestion (I see her point of view in some ways so that is not really the issue) but asking that I divulge the details of any redundancy payments received (sadly I was made redundant in January 2009 and it is increasingly looking like any redundancy payment will be needed to support me in the coming months!)

I feel I am firm ground in simply refusing to comply with divulging details as the minutes clearly state "in full and final settlement"

A.

A clean break is in effect a consent order that ensures that all the finances between you and your wife are dealt with at the time. It is not possible to have a clean break relating to any offspring but given that there were no children involved this is not applicable in any event.

The way a clean break works is this: once the order is made, this dismisses all financial claims between you and your wife, forever. A clean break order may include the agreement to pay a sum of money to your spouse, sale of assets, transfer of all or a share of the matrimonial home from one party to another.

Ongoing Financial Matters

However, I note that you say that you and your ex-wife are still trying to deal with the sale of the matrimonial home and that you have made a suggestion in relation to this, which has been rejected by your ex-wife through her solicitor. If you did have a clean break, was the suggestion that you made otherwise than in accordance with the order made in November of last year? Was your suggestion through your solicitor?

Redundancy

If there had been a possibility that you were facing redundancy last November, you would have been required to disclose it at the time. If you had known about it but had chosen not to disclose it, your ex-wife may be able to argue that you had not offered a true picture of your financial position.

Finality

Once a clean break order is made, the court will in fact dismiss any further claims that either spouse makes. The finality is such that this is the case even if one spouse wins the lottery, inherits a substantial estate or dies.

Consult a Lawyer

I am not without sympathy for your predicament, however I would suggest that you contact the solicitor who dealt with your divorce. This is because I cannot advise you without knowing more about your circumstances. In order to try to protect yourself and your financial future, especially in light of your redundancy, I would suggest you speak to someone who knows more about your case. Good luck.