Enforcement of Family Financial Orders – Law Commission’s Report 15/12/2016
On 15th December 2016 the Law Commission published its report into improving the enforcement of financial orders in family proceedings. This includes such matters as payments of maintenance, lump sums, transfer of property or pensions.
The headline recommendations give the Court power to put pressure on debtors by disqualifying them from driving or from travelling abroad.
The Commission recommends increasing the obligations on the debtor to provide honest and early disclosure of his or her financial circumstances and to also provide the court with wide powers to obtain information from third parties.
In order to make it harder for the debtor to avoid enforcement action by shielding his or her assets, the Commission also recommends extending existing methods of enforcement to assets that currently cannot be enforced against; for example, funds held in a joint account and pension assets.