Part 3: Self-test Questions

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. In proceedings for a financial order, how are children regarded by the courts?

The courts do not consider children. correct incorrect

As the courts' first consideration. correct incorrect

As the courts' only consideration. correct incorrect

As the courts' paramount consideration. correct incorrect

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. David and Claire are divorced and have started proceedings for financial orders. David has moved in with Sarah, who is very wealthy. David and Claire have modest assets and Claire believes that David should be supported by Sarah.
Which of the following is the best description of the advice to Claire?

Sarah's assets will be used by the courts in financial order proceedings for a financial order. correct incorrect

The assets of a new partner can be used by the courts in financial order proceedings but only if the new partner has substantial money and property. correct incorrect

Sarah's assets will be used by the courts but only in David's favour if they decrease his reliance on the assets of the marriage. correct incorrect

The assets of the new partner will be taken into account by the courts but they cannot be directly applied to meet the needs of the spouses. correct incorrect

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. Following the case of White v White (2000), which of the following best describes the courts' attitudes to contributions made by the parties to a marriage?

Contributions made to the marriage are considered equal if both parties to the marriage have gone out to work. correct incorrect

Contributions made to the marriage by looking after a home and bringing up children are considered equal to earning money through going out to work. correct incorrect

Contributions to the marriage are only considered to be significant if a party increases the value of the assets available to the parties. correct incorrect

Contributions to the marriage can be 'stellar' and outweigh all other contributions, leading to the courts departing a long way from equality. correct incorrect

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. Andrew is divorcing Mary on the basis of her adultery. Both parties are wealthy with sufficient assets to house both parties comfortably with a good income. There are no children of the marriage. Andrew seeks advice on financial matters.
Which of the following is correct?

This appears to be a suitable case for a clean break, although the court is not obliged to impose a clean break. correct incorrect

Mary's adultery will be considered as conduct by the court to be taken into account when deciding financial orders. The court will consider a clean break in this case. correct incorrect

This appears to be a suitable case for a clean break, and the court must impose a clean break as there are no children of the marriage. correct incorrect

Mary's adultery will not amount to conduct which the court has to take into account. The court will consider a clean break in this case. correct incorrect

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. Alistair and Neela have a very large home with eight bedrooms and both have very well-paid jobs. They divorce and commence proceedings for financial orders. There are no children of the marriage. They decide that the house is too big for either of them and that it should be sold immediately, with the proceeds divided equally between them.
Which of the following is a correct way of dealing with this situation?

The court will make a property adjustment order. correct incorrect

The court will make a Mesher order with each party receiving 50% share of the sale proceeds. correct incorrect

The court will make an order for sale with an order that the proceeds are divided equally on sale. correct incorrect

The court will place a charge on the property with each party receiving a 50% share of the sale proceeds. correct incorrect

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. Frank and Antonia have three children under 10 years and have commenced financial proceedings. The couple have decided that the children should remain with Antonia. The matrimonial home has very little equity and each party has a low-paid job. There is only just sufficient joint income to pay the mortgage on the property. The only other major asset is Frank's pension. Antonia seeks advice on what should be done with the family home.
Which one is the least advisable?

The court could order a Mesher order with the sale of the home postponed until the children reach 18 and then the proceeds divided between the parties in proportions divided by the court. correct incorrect

The court could order that the property be sold immediately with the sale proceeds used to assist Antonia to buy a new property. correct incorrect

The court could order that a charging order is placed on the house until a specified event (e.g. the children reaching 18 years old). Antonia and the children would remain in the property until sale. correct incorrect

The court could order that the property could be transferred to Antonia in her sole name with Frank keeping his pension. correct incorrect

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. Bill is getting married to Davina. He wishes to have a pre-marital agreement.
Please select all that apply.

Agreements made following marriage have contractual force. correct incorrect

Pre-marital agreements will never be followed by the courts as they are void for public policy. correct incorrect

Pre-marital agreements may have more weight if the parties receive independent legal advice and have given full disclosure. correct incorrect

Pre-marital agreements are followed by the courts in the event of a dispute between the parties. correct incorrect

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. You are commencing a case for financial orders case and are considering the steps that should be taken under the Pre-Action Protocol. Please select the incorrect option.

A first letter should ideally be approved by the client. correct incorrect

Form E should dictate the initial disclosure between the parties. correct incorrect

Expert evidence should only be used if the value of a significant asset is unknown. correct incorrect

The overriding objective of an ancillary relief case is to allow the parties to take their case to trial as quickly as possible. correct incorrect

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. Samuel is a wealthy banker whose wife, Eleanor, is divorcing him. Samuel does not want Eleanor to have any share of his considerable earnings. Samuel moves his savings and shares to accounts held in an offshore company that will be beyond the reach of the UK court. Samuel tells you, his solicitor, what he has done.
Which of the following is correct?

You advise Samuel that he should destroy all the paperwork correct incorrect

You advise Samuel to return the assets to the jurisdiction or you will be unable to act for him in this case as you would be misleading the court about the assets available. correct incorrect

You advise Samuel that you will inform the court of his actions immediately. correct incorrect

You advise Samuel that Eleanor can only litigate about the assets in England and Wales and so the savings and shares will not be part of financial order proceedings correct incorrect

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. Mabel and Frank divorced and completed financial order proceedings 10 years ago. Part of the order made by the court was that Frank paid Mabel £100 per month periodical payment on an open-ended basis. Mabel had been working at a bank but was made redundant from her job as a result of the recession. She had only recently returned to work after some years away and did not qualify for a redundancy payment. Mabel applies to the court for more money.
Which of the following is correct?

The court will take into account all the circumstances of the case with the first consideration being given to the children of the family and any change in circumstances in any of the matters which the court was required to consider when making the original order. correct incorrect

The court will take into account any change of circumstances since the making of the original order but only has the power to award Mabel more money until she finds work. correct incorrect

Periodical payment cannot be varied following the grant of a decree absolute. Mabel will have to apply for welfare benefits. correct incorrect

The power of the courts is limited to a consideration of periodical payments at the time of the divorce. The court can vary periodical payments only of they were unfair at the time of the order. correct incorrect

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. Eleanor is divorcing Samuel. Eleanor is a property developer and has a portfolio of very valuable properties. Eleanor does not wish Samuel to have any share of this portfolio in ancillary relief proceedings and so sells three properties and puts the proceeds of the sales into a bank account. The proceeds of sale amount to £500,000.
Which one is correct?

As the proceeds of sales of the properties is substantial this may lead to different financial relief and so the sale of the properties is a reviewable disposition. correct incorrect

As the sale of the properties was made within the last ten years, this is proof of intention to defeat the applicant's claim for ancillary relief. correct incorrect

If Samuel cannot find out about the proceeds of sale through the normal processes of disclosure, he cannot do anything. correct incorrect

As the properties have been bought by third parties in good faith, the courts cannot set aside the sale of the properties. correct incorrect

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. Alice and Pauline are civil partners and live in Alice's house. Alice is the sole legal owner of the property as she inherited the property (mortgage free) from her parents. Alice and Pauline have not been getting along and there have been many arguments. Alice threatens to throw Pauline out of the house.
Which is correct?

Alice cannot evict or exclude Pauline as Pauline can obtain an order under s33 Family Law Act 1996. correct incorrect

Pauline can protect her right to occupy by registering it with the Land Registry. correct incorrect

Alice cannot evict or exclude Pauline as Pauline has a right to occupy under s30 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. correct incorrect

Pauline can protect her right to occupy the property using a notice or Class F land charge. correct incorrect

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. Many clients seek advice on separation and maintenance agreements.
Which is incorrect?

Parties retain control of the process and this helps to preserve good relations as an adversarial stance is avoided. correct incorrect

The court's jurisdiction cannot be excluded by a separation or maintenance agreement. correct incorrect

Separation and maintenance agreements can help parties to keep legal costs down. correct incorrect

A court can enforce a separation agreement in financial order proceedings. correct incorrect

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. In child maintenance support, net income under the 1991 Act is the basis for the calculation. Which of the following is correct?

Net income refers to all wages, bonuses, commission, statutory sick pay or regular income less income tax and National Insurance. correct incorrect

Net income refers to all wages less income tax, National Insurance and pension payments. correct incorrect

Net income refers to all wages, bonuses, commission, statutory sick pay or regular income less income tax and pension payments. correct incorrect

Net income refers to all wages, bonuses, commission, statutory sick pay or regular income less income tax, National Insurance and pension payments. correct incorrect

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. Adam and Francis decide as part of their financial order proceedings that Adam's pension will be subject to a pension sharing order. It is the only large asset available to the parties
Which is correct?

The pension sharing order divides the pension at the time of the parties' retirement. correct incorrect

All types of pensions are suitable for pension sharing. correct incorrect

The recipient of a share of the pension may transfer their share of the pension into a new pension scheme. correct incorrect

The owner of the pension scheme retains ownership of the pension. correct incorrect

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. Billy works as a sales manager and earns £33,000 per year. Billy wishes to know how much income tax he has to pay. Use the figures for the 2018/2019 tax year. Which of the following figures is the correct amount of Billy's net pay?

£16920 correct incorrect

£17200 correct incorrect

£15669 correct incorrect

£18660 correct incorrect

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. Amy and Hugo are in the middle of financial proceedings. Both earn very high salaries as they are partners in City law firms. They have a large number of shares, which will have to be sold to create liquid assets for the settlement as well as selling the family home as both parties need to purchase separate homes. Both wish to consider taxation issues which may arise.
Which one is incorrect?

The sale of the family home may attract capital gains tax. correct incorrect

If the parties purchase new homes, they may be liable for stamp duty land tax. correct incorrect

Both parties will pay Income Tax on their incomes. correct incorrect

The sale of the shares may create a liability for capital gains tax. correct incorrect

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. Amelia is in receipt of income support as she is a lone parent. As well as receiving a regular payment, Amelia is 'passported' into some other benefits, which she would lose if no longer eligible for income support. Amelia wishes to know what these 'passported' benefits are.
Which is incorrect?

Free travel on public transport. correct incorrect

Free school meals for children. correct incorrect

Free dental care. correct incorrect

Free prescriptions. correct incorrect

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. Mark and Shazia are both aged 18 and live together in rented accommodation. They are the parents of Milo, aged 2 years old. Mark works as a delivery driver for 37 hours per week but receives low pay. Shazia looks after Milo on a full-time basis. Mark and Shazia do not qualify for income support or job seeker's allowance but they ask if there are any other benefits for which they may be eligible. Which of the following is correct?

Mark and Shazia may be eligible for working tax credit, housing benefit, child benefit and council tax benefit correct incorrect

Mark and Shazia may be eligible for working tax credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit. correct incorrect

Mark and Shazia may be eligible for working tax credit, child benefit and council tax benefit. correct incorrect

Mark and Shazia may be eligible for working tax credit, housing benefit, and council tax benefit. correct incorrect