The following applies equally to orders made by the court after a contested hearing and to orders made by consent. Obviously, what needs to be done to implement the order depends upon the contents of the order, but here are some examples:
• An order for payment of a lump sum – the party required to pay the lump sum must pay it to the other party within the time limit set down by the court. Failure to do so could result in the paying party incurring interest (which may be specified in the order) and further costs.
• An order for the transfer of property – often simultaneously with the payment of a lump sum by the transferee to the transferor. The transferor will need to do everything necessary to transfer their interest in the property to the transferee, within the time limit specified by the court. If any real property, such as the former matrimonial home, is to be transferred to you, then you will need to instruct a solicitor to deal with the conveyancing. Even if you are the transferring party, you would do well to seek legal advice upon the transfer document, for example to ensure that you are being released from any mortgage on the property.
• Pension sharing orders – a copy of the order with pension sharing annex will have to be sent to the other party’s pension provider, with a request that they implement the order. (You will need to take independent financial advice about setting up a pension into which the pension share is to be transferred.) You (and/or the other party, depending upon the terms of the order) will also need to pay any fee required by the pension
provider for implementing the order, and the pension provider will also need to see a copy of the decree absolute to ensure that the order has taken effect.
• Orders relating to endowment policies – these may be sold/ surrendered (and the proceeds divided) or one party may be required to transfer (or assign) their interest in the policy to the other party. An appropriate deed of assignment can usually be obtained from the insurance company, which is then signed and returned to the company with a request that the company give effect to the assignment.