The risks of remarriage following divorce

The risks of remarriage after divorce

If you’re looking to plan a wedding, the last thing you want is a joyful occasion to become bogged down or overshadowed by complicated financial and legal matters. However, it is important to remember that a marriage carries with it significant legal implications and understanding how these can affect you and your new spouse is paramount, particularly if one or both of you have been married before.

What are the legal implications of remarriage?

First and foremost, to be married in the eyes of the law in England or Wales, you must be able to prove that you are not already married. If you’ve been married before and divorced, you will need to produce the Final Order (Decree Absolute) to prove your divorce has been finalised.

If you have not yet reached this stage of your divorce, you cannot legally remarry.

What are the financial implications of remarriage?

Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly) finances often dominate the conversation when a couple divorces. If one ex-spouse then looks to remarry, it can complicate any agreements made, especially if these agreements were informally.

For instance, if you were to remarry before resolving financial matters, it is possible that you will be prevented from applying for a financial order through the courts.

An application for a financial order can be initiated either by ticking the relevant boxes in the divorce petition or by issuing an application in Form A (a notice of intention to proceed with an application for a financial order).

It is usual practice to include an application for a financial order in a divorce petition even if you do not intend to pursue an application with the court. By proceeding in this way, your claims will remain open and will be protected in the event of remarriage.

If an application for a financial order has not been made in the divorce petition, or separately in Form A and you remarry, you will be barred from making an application to the court for a financial provision order or a property adjustment order. This means that you will not be able to apply to the court for periodical payments, a lump sum order or an order in relation to property.

You will not, however, be barred from making a claim in relation to your spouse’s pension.

Spousal maintenance claims cannot be preserved following remarriage and therefore, if your spousal maintenance claim has been left open or if there is a spousal maintenance order in force, upon remarriage, your claims for spousal maintenance will automatically be dismissed.

What should I do if I want to remarry?

To avoid the risk of the “remarriage trap”, we strongly advise you wait until your divorce and financial matters are resolved before considering remarriage as, upon divorce, your financial claims against each other will not automatically be dismissed.

Financial claims can only be dismissed if the court makes a final order in financial proceedings, or if a consent order was approved by the court, which records the agreement that has been reached. It is always sensible to enter a consent order to finalise financial claims upon divorce.

If you have any concerns or uncertainties about divorce or remarriage, it is advisable to consult a family law solicitor who will be able to assist you.

For more information, you can speak to one of our expert divorce solicitors on 0330 041 5869 or contact us online.

All the above information was correct at the time of publication.