For this reason, it is usually a good idea for a divorcing couple to obtain a financial order.  A financial order ends the financial commitments in the same way that divorce ends the marriage and prevents either person from making a claim in the future.

A financial order sets out what happens to the assets, such as the family home, and liabilities or debts after the divorce.  It the divorcing couple are able to agree matters then a clean break or consent order might be made.  If they can’t agree then a financial remedy application would be made and, after hearing evidence, the court would decide how financial matters should dealt with.

Amongst other matters a financial order might include provision for the payment of maintenance from one spouse to the other and it might include the sharing of one spouse’s pension with the other.

Maintenance is a regular payment made by one spouse to the other.  It’s only likely to be paid where the receiving spouse couldn’t meet their needs without it.  In deciding whether maintenance should be paid and, if it should paid, how much should be paid the court will consider what income the receiving spouse needs, what income they already have and what their earning capacity is in the future.  For example, a spouse caring for young children might have a greater need now that they would in the future when they are able to work longer hours.

Where a couple were married for a longer period of time or one the spouses has a greater need, because they have a disability for example, then maintenance is more likely to be paid and for a longer period of time.

The court might make an order that maintenance is paid for the lifetime of one of the spouses.  This is often the case where the marriage was long and there is a large disparity in the income and earning capacity of the parties.  It might also be made where there are young children and the parent with care of the children is unlikely to be able to return to work on a full-time basis until the children are much older.

If the marriage is short, often considered to be less than five years, the maintenance is less likely to be paid or might only be paid for a short period of time.

The court might make an order that maintenance is paid for a specific number of years.  Depending on the circumstances of the case this period might be fixed but might also be capable of being extended.  This type of maintenance order is often made where a marriage is short and there no children or, if there are children, they are older and have reduced needs.

It is also possible for the court to make a nominal maintenance order ordering one spouse to pay a small sum, often £1, to the other spouse.  This is usually done in order to keep alive the possibility of a further claim for maintenance in the future should circumstances change.

The payment of maintenance usually stops if an order was made for a fixed term and that term has come to an end, one of the parties dies, or the spouse receiving maintenance remarries.

Whilst maintenance would not necessarily stop if the person receiving maintenance simply cohabits with a new partner without marrying them it might be a good reason for the paying spouse to apply to the court to vary the maintenance order.

It is important to remember that any maintenance award depends on the payer’s resources and ability to pay as well as the recipient’s reasonable needs.  The court will not make an order for maintenance if the payer cannot pay as there would little point in doing so.  The court might look to other ways to meet the parties differing needs such as a pension sharing order.

A pension sharing order shares one spouse’s pension with the other spouse in one way or another in order to meet their differing needs.

An order might be made whereby a percentage of a pension fund is transferred from one spouse’s pension into the other spouse’s pension.  Some pension schemes insist that the pension funds remain in the fund albeit in a different name whereas others allow the monies to be transferred into a different fund.  The order will usually specify a time limit for implementing the transfer.  There is also usually a fee for effecting the transfer.

One of the benefits of a pension sharing order is that since both parties have their own pensions after the transfer has taken place the death of the other party will not have any effect.

The court might also make a pensions attachment order.  This type of order requires the spouse receiving the pension to pay part of it to their former spouse partner.  This type of order is less common because it leaves the pension recipient in control of the money and because payment of the pension and therefore the attachments to that pension end on the death of the pension recipient.  If a pension sharing order had been made instead then the recipient of the pension share would have had their own pension which would not have ended on the death of their former spouse.

Rather than share a pension directly the court can also make an order offsetting a pension against other assets. This is very common.  For example, one party may wish to retain all of their pension and so instead of a pension sharing order agrees to transfer all of their interest in the former family home to the other party instead.

Although made less frequently the court can make an order that that a lump sum is paid when one spouse retires and receives their pension.  The risk with an order of this type is that if the person in whose name the pension is should die before receiving their pension then the entitlement to the lump sum is lost.

Finally, the court can make a deferred pension sharing order.  This type of order might be made where there was a significant gap in the ages of a separating couple.  They might agree that a pension sharing order should be deferred to allow the younger party to reach pension age.  Again, there is a risk that in the event that the person in whose name the pension is dies then the entitlement is lost.

In both circumstances it would be prudent to put in place alternative arrangements to cover the death of the pension recipient.

Pension sharing and the calculation of offset values, particularly where the parties have multiple pensions, can be difficult and complex.  It is important that professional advice is sought from expert and experienced family lawyers like Paul Dodds Law before any arrangement is entered into.