How to protect assets during a divorce

There are cases where one party will deliberately try and dispose of assets to try and put them out of reach of the other party. An example might be transferring an asset to a friend or family member at a value significantly less than it is worth. If you have evidence that this is about to happen then your solicitor can approach the court on an urgent basis requesting an order preventing the disposal. This is known as a “freezing order”.

There is also a remedy for cases in which a disposal has already taken place where you can ask the court to set aside the transaction. This is called an “avoidance of disposition order”.

These applications can only be brought once divorce proceedings have started.

Applying for either of these orders is expensive so careful consideration will need to be given to the value of the asset and the costs likely to be incurred, because it may be a better strategy to ask the court to add-back the value of the asset disposed of to your spouse’s side of the balance sheet when asking the court to divide the assets. The best strategy will very much depend on the circumstances of your case and advice from a specialist family solicitor should be taken before doing anything.

In cases where the family home is solely owned by one spouse and there is a concern that they may sell, mortgage or remortgage it to frustrate the other spouse’s claim, it is advisable to have your solicitor register a matrimonial homes rights notice against the title at the Land Registry.

If you are planning to divorce you should discuss any concerns that you may have about your spouse’s plans to deal with assets in the first meeting so that if action needs to be taken, this can be done urgently.