Well, if you believe what you read in the papers, it will take you 3 seconds to get a divorce and 5 minutes to settle your financial claims.
The Ecclestones today have reportedly settled their £5.5 billion estate in a 5 minute hearing. In a divorce that was detailed as being acrimonious, how could the Ecclestone's reach such a quick decision in such a short hearing which neither party attended? For those that have had the unfortunate task of separating their matrimonial finances, a 5 minute hearing to figure out a £5.5 billion estate seems absurd.
Hannah Bickley, Associate Director & Deputy Head of our Family Law Department, comments:
“It has always been misreported that divorce will only take 3 seconds or a couple are divorced at the Decree Nisi stage. This is untrue and a divorce is only finalised at the Decree Absolute which will take a minimum of 12 – 14 weeks for the whole process to be finalised from start to finish, if the parties are already at an agreement from the outset of their case.
However, any financial issues that have been settled within a 5 minute hearing, especially with such a high net worth estate, is more like to have involved possible earlier numerous court hearings, conferences with Barristers, settlement conferences with all parties and significant correspondence to reach an agreement that ultimately concluded at a 5 minute hearing! This hearing will typically be to inform the Court that an agreement has been reached and the Consent Order will be entered into by the parties and submitted to the Court for the Judge’s final approval. To simply set out that the case has been settled in at 5 minute hearing is a little misleading and will not reflect the time involved beforehand and work undertaken by the parties and their lawyers to get to that stage”.
Each case, whether it is case involving high net worth complex assets or a case involving what appears to be lower value assets, all require the same basic framework of gathering financial evidence and full financial disclosure so each side knows what the true assets are and case involves. Once an agreement has been reached, whether with or without the assistance of a Judge, it is necessary to confirm any agreement in a Court order. This is sometimes known as a Consent Order for a Judge’s approval to become legally binding. You will then have to take steps to carry out the terms of the Court order.
The Ecclestone's 5 minute settlement hearing is far from the end of their case and with such a high net worth estate, they will have a lot more work ahead of them before they can celebrate the finalisation of their divorce.
No matter the value of your estate, you can contact any member of the divorce lawyers at Jackson Lees and we will be more than happy to discuss your options with you and help you reach an amicable conclusion with your spouse or former partner.
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