Protection of Intervener’s assets

It is a sad fact of life that couples get divorced and then go through court proceedings to work out how to divide their finances. But what happens if the parent of one of the couple has invested in the marital home or other property?

Divorce cases typically involve working out what the joint assets of a couple are, and how they ought to be divided. In some cases, there can be a third party who would claim to have an interest in those assets. A classic example would be where a parent of one of the divorcing couple has provided a loan to purchase a property. The parent would be an "intervener" in the divorce proceedings. 

If these circumstances arise, it is possible for one of the separating couple to challenge or deny the third party's interest in the property.

Samuels were recently instructed in relation to ongoing family court proceedings, where we acted for the intervener in the proceedings between the intervener’s daughter and her estranged husband.

As part of the proceedings, assets consisting of two flats and a family home, in which the intervener asserted he had an interest, were dealt with at the final hearing.

As a result, the intervener was called upon to protect himself in relation to those assets, where he had paid deposits when the properties were purchased, and then later paid for renovation works.

The intervener was able to assert a financial interest in the properties.

On short notice, we applied for the intervener to be joined to the proceedings, to file written evidence and then attend a final hearing when settlement where the intervener’s assets were protected.

Without such protection, there was a risk that the intervener's assets would form part of the joint assets of the marriage and be lost.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, then we at Samuels Solicitors LLP would be able to take the appropriate steps to protect your assets. Contact us for a free discussion about your case.