Have you reached an agreement for maintenance payments for your children?

A recent report produced by the Department for Work & Pensions has outline dramatic changes to the Child Support Agency (CSA).

The current government is keen for families to reach agreements without the need to utilise what currently is a free service. To deter people from turning to the CSA to assess levels of maintenance and enforce and facilitate child maintenance payments fees will be introduced to use this service going forward.

The BBC recently published the following article:

“The BBC has learned that parents who separate could end up paying hundreds of pounds every year to use the new child support agency.
The proposals could see both parents charged fees on every child maintenance payment made and received through the government service.
Custodial parents would see 12% to 15% deducted from the monthly payment they receive, while non-custodial parents would have an extra 20% added to their payment.”

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12401420

When considering divorce if both parties are in agreement with regard to child maintenance payments it is advised that a financial order be drafted creating a legally binding court order. Doing so protects both parties and secures maintenance payments for the children. Neither party would then have to seek support from the CSA going forward avoiding the potential fees that this could incur if circumstances were to change in the future.

Fasttrack Divorce offer a solicitor drafted financial consent order from as little as £130, this service also includes a private agreement that specifically sets out any agreement made with regard to maintenance payments for the children.

The Importance of a "Clean Break" Financial Protection after Divorce

Ex-wife Celebrates Win Fall

Modern law now encourages each party to leave the past behind them in order to make a fresh start. With this in mind it is now more important than ever to make sure that as part of your divorce you sever your financial ties. This can be achieved in the form of a Clean Break Consent Order.

The Sun recently published the following article;

A £56m lottery winner has been forced to pay a chunk of his jackpot to his ex-wife who walked out on him 10 years ago for another man. According to The Sun, Mr Page's pay-out came 10 years after his ex-wife ditched him for another man and experts said it was likely the couple failed to include a legally-binding "clean break" arrangement at the time of their divorce.

The Clean Break Consent Order allows the severing of financial ties in order that the parties can move on with their lives.  It also entails certainty in that each party is aware that no further claims can be made in the future and in turn encourages independence of each party.  

If one party’s circumstances change due to illness, unemployment etc that party is entitled to make a financial claim against the other.  If the parties have a clean break this ensures that either party is safe from any further proceedings being made against them ensuring that financial obligations of each party towards the other will be terminated.

In relation to the article the circumstances of the Mr Page changed and due to the lack of any financial orders in place this enabled his ex-wife to begin a financial claim against him. 

When filing for divorce it is important that you also complete a clean break consent order. Fasttrack Divorce can produce a consent order for you that once filed at the court is a legally binding court order. This will provide you with peace of mind and financial security for the future as it will prevent your ex-spouse from being able to make a claim against you.

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Divorce Online - Life After Divorce

Life After Divorce

If you are at the start of a divorce, you may be feeling stressed and anxious. There are all sorts of things that you may consider for example; how you will survive financially? Where will you live? And what will the future hold?

The aim of this article is to help you identify the main things you should consider and to help guide you through your options.

How will I survive financially?

• Prepare a list of your income and outgoings to see how much you need each week/month to live on.
• Check what benefits and tax credits you are entitled to. To help you work out how much you could claim, please visit Entitled to and use their simple calculator to make sure you are not missing out on any entitlements. The site is free and no personal information is required.
• If you are now the only adult in your household, contact your local council to obtain a 25% reduction of your Council Tax bill.
• Work out what you might have to pay or be entitled to receive in child maintenance. To work out child maintenance please use the Child Maintenance Calculator on the Child Support Agency website.
• If you have a pension, find out how much your pension is worth by asking your pension provider to provide you with a CETV (“Cash Equivalent Transfer Value”) of your pension.
• Contact your bank to inform them of the divorce and open up a separate bank account, if you haven’t already.
• You may want to consider setting up spousal maintenance payments, or receive a lump sum payment as settlement in the divorce. This can be achieved by a Financial Consent Order

Where will I live?

• Ask an estate agent to value your property if you are thinking of selling it.
• Contact your mortgage company to find out how much you owe on your mortgage.
• If you have an endowment policy, find out what it is worth by contacting your assurance company. Make sure you find out how much it is worth if you cash it in now and also what it will pay when it matures.
• Decide how long you need to stay in the property before it can be sold and how much it would cost you to remain in the property.
• If a property needs to be sold, find out how much it would cost you to re-house yourself (and any children) and obtain a selection of properties you would be interested in buying.
• If the property you live in is in joint names, you may want to consider a property adjustment order, which will allow you to remain in the property until a later date i.e. the children have finished full time education. This can be achieved by a Financial Consent Order
• Contact Mortgage provides to find out the maximum you could raise by getting a new mortgage.
• Consider what is available to rent.

What will the future hold?

• If you have only been working part-time or not working, consider what you would need to do to get back into the job market or to increase your hours.
• If you are looking for a change of career, what training and qualifications will you need? Helpful information can be found at Next Steps
• What expenses will you incur in planning a change of career?
• Budget and plan for any changes in career.
• Make sure you put into place or change an existing Will to ensure that right people benefit from your estate.
• Single life is different but you shouldn’t be afraid, being single again can take time to get use to but it is the perfect opportunity for you to re-discover yourself.
• Remember doing things that make you happy will increase your self-confidence!

At Fasttrack Divorce we have tried to make the divorce process as quick, simple and as cost effective as possible. We appreciate that there are many other things you will want to be able to get on and do so let us worry about your divorce.
Our services are tailored to your suit your personal circumstance, providing you with just the right level of help and guidance. Our team of dedicated Divorce Experts have all the relevant experience required to support you at this time in your life.
Divorce doesn’t have to be difficult and we help thousands of people every month successfully obtain their divorce throughout England & Wales.

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Divorce Online - The Benefits of Using an Online Divorce Company

Benefits of an Online Divorce

In today’s society, with the constraints and pressures of everyday life why should obtaining a divorce have to make everything grind to a halt? The answer is simply it shouldn’t and doesn’t have to.

Thousands of people every month throughout the UK are seeking ways to reduce the amount of time it takes and the costs involved in obtaining a divorce and turn to online divorce specialists such as Fasttrack Divorce to assist them in this process.


To break this down, by using an online divorce company the average divorce can be completed in just 12 weeks and cost (excluding courts fees) from as little at £37 in comparison to a high street solicitor’s service where the average divorce takes up to 18 months and the cost of the divorce can be in excess of £1,000 (excluding court fees). There are many reasons why this is usually the case but here are the main points for you to consider;


If the online divorce company charges an upfront fee inclusive of VAT only (and you must check that this is the only fee due to them i.e. there are not other costs) then they are unable to add additional cost on to your divorce later on in the process, in comparison to a high street solicitor who will generally charge you for consultations, correspondence and additional advice. Building these charges into the divorce process makes your case profitable for a high street solicitor and fees can escalate quickly, however for the online divorce company it is their objective to complete your case as quickly as possible as they have already taken their fee and are unable to build in additional charges.


By using a high street solicitor their focus may be on many different aspects of law not just divorce. To make sure your case is completed as efficiently as possible you should look for a Divorce Solicitor who is experienced in handling divorce cases - in fact my advice is that they should be a specialist in this area, meaning it's the only work that they do. The courts can be extremely particular in what they receive throughout the process and the slightest mistake can add weeks onto your divorce and can also result in additional court and solicitor fees.


And finally ease of access to updates and developments on your case is also a crucial thing to consider. A high street solicitor will usually only be contactable during office hours and an appointment will usually need to be made and at a cost! Meaning you will probably have to take time off work and of course pay for their fee; whereas a good online divorce company such as Fasttrack Divorce will provide you with 24 hour access to their case management tracking system where you can manage your divorce effectively from the comfort of your own home at a time suitable for you. It is also import to have a dedicated point of contact that you can speak to or liasie with via email and that no fees are charged for this service, Fasttrack Divorce provide this free of charge.


There are of course many other benefits that can be listed but I believe that these are the most important things to consider helping save you time and money when going through a divorce. If you and your spouse are both in agreement and ready to move on surely the fastest, simplest and most cost efficient route is the best option.

Start your divorce proceedings today by visiting Fasttrack Divorce and use a tried and trusted service that thousands of other people in the UK have already used to successfully obtain their divorce.

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