13 FEBRUARY 2021 • THE GOOD LIFE DISTRIBUTED WITH THE SATURDAY DAILY MAIL


Financial planning, legal & retirement London-based family law firm


Vanessa Lloyd Platt reveals how Lloyd Platt & Co can help you with legal issues


In November 2020, a survey carried out by the govern- ment-backed Money & Pensions Service found that 23% of people in relationships suspected that their other half kept a money secret, and 45% of those in rela- tionships admitted to keeping an undisclosed financial product. In divorce proceedings,


full disclosure must be made of capital, income and assets from all sources, including pensions. Whether disclosure is made on a voluntary basis in a Form E document of disclosure between solicitors or on such a document through the court process or mediation, all prop- erty that’s owned by you, jointly or otherwise bank and building society accounts,


investments,


trusts and income that you hold or might shortly inherit must be disclosed. If it’s demonstrated in divorce


proceedings that you’ve failed to disclose an asset or income that would’ve made a difference to the settlement, then the settlement can subsequently be reopened, with the consequences of this namely orders for costs or even a referral to the CPS for perjury. Many people think that it’s


perfectly acceptable to transfer assets to relatives or friends at the start of divorce proceedings. However, unless there’s a reason so to do, for example a proper and realistic debt due to them, these transfers will lead to the court deeming that those assets are yours anyway. Tey’ll order the same to be treated as your assets and to be transferred back to you. Creating false loans to third parties can now be easily detected and will also be set aside with the loss of credibility in your case. In many divorce cases that


Lloyd Platt & Co deals with, the parties hide debt. Tey can do this for a multiple number of reasons. Firstly, because their expendi- ture has spiralled out of control and they don’t want


to accept


either to themselves or to their partner that they’ve been over- spending and that their financial position is far worse than they’ve let on. Secondly, they could’ve got into a spiral of wanton finan- cial expenditure and simply cannot row back from this. Often


WHILE FOR SOME, CORONAVIRUS HAS HIGHLIGHTED HOW DEPENDENT WE’VE BECOME AS A SOCIETY ON POSSESSIONS, FOR OTHERS THE ENTICING BUTTON TO PRESS FOR HOME DELIVERIES HAS ALSO SPIRALLED OUT OF CONTROL


spouses or partners are horrified at the level of debt that suddenly comes out of the woodwork when disclosure


expenditure can in some circum- stances amount


is made. Wanton to


financial


misconduct where there can be a rebalancing of a financial settle- ment by a huge part of the debt being deducted from the guilty party’s settlement. One issue that Lloyd Platt &


Co strongly advise at this time of year is that conversation should be had about assets and liabilities while your marriage is still subsisting. Discussions about mounting debt must be had so that


these issues can


be addressed together before it’s too late and impacts on the marriage.


Every day, there have been


complaints about the so-called nanny state seeking to protect us from our own tendency to self-harm.


During Corona-


virus, so many issues have been micro-regulated about how we exercise, how we should socialise, who we should meet, etc. However, the biggest destroyer of ordinary lives that’s been left to spiral unchecked, unregulated and ignored is that of ‘runaway debt syndrome’. Te New Year and Christmas


break always produces outra- geous debt and that’s why Lloyd Platt & Co has so many who come to us to commence divorce proceedings in the New year. Money spent entirely on luxury goods such as televisions, top-of- the-range mobiles


and items


that we clearly wouldn’t manage without can bring chaos, debt and utter misery. While for some, coronavirus


has highlighted how dependent we’ve become as a society on possessions, for others the enticing button to press for home deliveries has also spiralled out of control. It’s now time, particularly at this time of year, for society to get to grips with


the reality that


there’s no such thing as a free lunch. One day you’ll have to pay, and if you can’t, what then? Days burgeoning into debt can


be created by wilful spending. Encouraged by greedy COMPANY PROFILE


Lloyd Platt & Co is one of the UK’s leading niche family and divorce firms. Established in 1992, the firm offers a wide range of services in the divorce and matrimonial law practice areas. The firm regularly comments on high-profile divorce cases and the latest industry developments for media around the world. The firm is at the forefront of changes in the market, offering


innovative and unique divorce solutions to meet clients’ ever- changing needs and staying one step ahead of the latest industry evolutions. All the fee-earners offer different specialisation within the


divorce and matrimonial field. Mediation is promoted, as well as successful outcome meetings for grandparents. Lloyd Platt & Co specialises in children disputes, divorce,


cohabitation and financial settlements, particularly in the high-net- worth arena — it’s been involved in several ground-breaking cases. The firm also worked closely with the Blue Cross animal charity to create the world’s first ‘pet-nuptial’ agreement, a contractual deed that specifies how pets can be dealt with on the break-up of a relationship. The agreements is now used across the country and worldwide.


wilful lenders it’s creating a generation of those who want everything without having to work for it. Te items have no meaning because most people don’t have to strive for them and are therefore easily dispos- able. It’s Lloyd Platt & Co’s view that


there should be stronger


regulation to prevent banks or credit card entities enticing all into debt position with rates of interest that are huge. One credit card or maximum of two should be permitted with strin- gent checks on credit ability, then there’d be a fetter on people spending massively beyond


For further information, please contact T: 020 8343 2998 divorcesolicitors.com


THE REST OF THE TEAM


their means. We’ve become a society where objects and possessions have overwhelmed commonsense. Coronavirus has affected it’s


everyone but hoped


that some lessons can be learned through all the misery so that unnecessary spending can be cast aside for the sake of fami- lies everywhere.


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