Proposed Reforms On Enforcement Of Family Financial Orders

The Law Commission has recently consulted on the issue of enforcement of Family Financial Orders.

It is widely felt that reform is needed in this area. The family law organisation Resolution welcomes proposals to shift the onus on to the defaulting party and to streamline enforcement procedures.

Enforcement is routinely complex and often uneconomical. Disclosure is often a particularly difficult area. Added to this, with Litigants in Person on the increase, so too will the number of Orders that are susceptible to enforcement issues.

It is felt that litigants need quick access to the Court and that clear direction and improved guidance is required.

Enforcement of Family Financial Orders

A general application for enforcement for the Court to determine the best way forward is considered the easiest option for unrepresented parties and all levels of Judge should be able to make the appropriate Order.

Insufficient information about the debtor’s circumstances is seen as the biggest barrier to creditors seeking payment.  It is therefore proposed that the debtor should be required to file a financial statement.

Working towards a single and robust regime for the recovery of costs of enforcement proceedings, with significant costs penalties, and potentially fines in addition to costs, would be welcomed. A creditor should no longer be required to seek the permission of the Court for the enforcement of arrears over twelve months old, with the burden being shifted to the debtor to argue otherwise.

It is also widely felt that there should be greater focus on issues of enforcement and the consequences of non-compliance at the time of the initial Order. There should be no possibility of enforcement proceedings being adjourned for the parties to explore other means of dispute resolution. The likes of mediation are unlikely to be appropriate within the context of enforcement.

Specifically relating to Family Financial Orders, even where a Pension Sharing Order has already been made, a Pension Sharing Order should still be available as a remedy where there has been a failure to comply with another part of a Financial Remedy Order.

The existence of a pension scheme administered in England and Wales should be sufficient to found jurisdiction for the purposes of pension sharing, the parties no longer, in this context, needing to rely upon domicile and habitual residence.

Reform is long awaited!