Divorce - Procedure for obtaining financial order
The Court can make an order if there are financial disputes about money or property.
This guide does not give a statement of the law and will not help you to decide what to ask the Court to do if you are in dispute with your spouse about financial matters. You must decide what to do and what order/s you want to ask the Court to make but you are strongly recommended to obtain legal advice.
You may ask the Court staff for information concerning Court procedures, but Court staff are NOT allowed to offer legal advice or advise you about your different legal options.
No application for lump sums, transfer, sale of or settlement of property, secured provision order or variation of settlement order may be made by a respondent who has not filed an answer making financial claims within 2 months of the decree absolute, except with leave of the Court.
Why an order is needed
It is in your interests to get financial matters sorted out and a Court order made. If not, it could/may lead to a future claim being made against you for a share of the wealth you may have acquired after the divorce or end of your civil partnership.
The Law
See Articles 25 to 31 of the Matrimonial Causes (Jersey) Law 1949 as amended and Articles 44 to 51 of the Civil Partnership (Jersey) Law 2012. Jersey courts take into account the factors set out in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (“MCA”).
Starting an Application
If you are the petitioner, you will already have set out in your divorce petition what orders you are seeking. In order to proceed with your claims, you must file Form 16: notice re application for ancillary relief
If you are the respondent, you will already set out in your Form 4 what orders you are seeking, must file a Form 16: notice re application for ancillary relief. In both cases delete the orders you are not seeking and identify the property or properties over which you are making a claim. The Court will give you a date for a preliminary directions hearing. Form 16, once it has been processed by the Registrar, will be returned to you so that you can arrange for it to be served on your civil spouse. If he or she has an advocate or a solicitor, then it is the advocate or solicitor who must be served instead.
The Preliminary Directions Hearing
This takes place before the Family Judge. If you have lawyers acting for you, they will attend and you don’t have to. However, if you do not have lawyers acting for you, you MUST attend the preliminary directions hearing.
The Family Judge will usually make directions as to the filing of evidence about the parties’ finances, and fix a date for a Case Review hearing. If either you or your spouse do not comply with the deadlines set by the Registrar, cost orders may be made against the person failing to do so. You will be ordered to file an affidavit of means.
The Case Review Hearing
All parties AND their lawyers MUST attend.
The purpose of the case review hearing, which again is held before the Family Judge, is to determine whether anything can be done to sort out the dispute, and find out what outstanding areas of disagreement need to be addressed.
Sometimes, as a result of this process, agreed orders can be made. Even if there is not full agreement, there may be agreement as to certain aspects of the dispute, and interim or full orders may be made.
If agreement cannot be reached, the Family Judge may make further orders as the filing of further evidence, and will set a date for a final hearing. The Family Judge will normally order that the parties are to set out/confirm in writing what orders are being sought at a specified time before the final hearing. Interim child maintenance orders (periodical payments) may be made.
The final hearing
You, your lawyer and the witnesses must attend the final hearing. Difficult or lengthy cases may be referred to the Inferior Number of the Royal Court.
If Agreement is Reached
If agreement is reached before the final hearing, you and your spouse must lodge a draft order for approval by the Family Judge, signed by both of you consenting to an order being made in the terms of the draft. You must at the same time send to the Court a Statement of Information for a Consent Order form, giving all the information required by it, and signed and dated by both of you.
A final order cannot be made (except for interim maintenance for yourself or child maintenance) until the pronouncement of the decree nisi. The order cannot come into force until the divorce is finalised (made absolute).
See also the guidance on Finances and Hearing your application