What is a freezing order?

If you are going through a divorce or dissolving a civil partnership, you may be worried that your spouse or civil partner is spending as much money as they can or selling assets to prevent you from receiving any financial gain from them.

You can apply to the court for a freezing order which is an injunction that stops your spouse from dealing with or disposing of assets so they will not form part of the financial settlement in a divorce. The assets can include property, stocks and shares, jewellery, art, valuable cars and bank accounts held in the UK or abroad.

Freezing orders are granted under Section 37 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and the court can decide how long they are granted for. 

Guidance on whether the court will grant a freezing order is set out in the case of UL v BK (Freezing Orders: Safeguards: Standard Examples) [2013] EWHC 1735 (Fam) 

1. If specific assets are subject to a claim, the court has the power to preserve them.
2. Safeguards and principles must be rigorously applied to all freezing orders.
3. The applicant must prove that there is a real risk their spouse will sell or dispose of assets in a way that will prejudice the applicant.
4. The applicant must provide clear, concise evidence of the above fact – speculation will not suffice.
5. If the tactic of surprise is used, the applicant must prove that the section 37 injunction application is being issued as a matter of urgency. 
6. If no notice is provided to the other spouse of the freezing order being sought, the applicant must be completely truthful or the injunction will be withdrawn.
7. Where no notice or short informal notice is given, the safeguards assume critical importance.

If the freezing order has been granted and your spouse breaches it, they may be held in contempt of court and the penalties include a fine, having their assets seized or even imprisonment. 

Our lawyers have offices based in Wolverhampton and Cradley Heath and provide assistance to clients across the West Midlands including: Stourbridge, Kidderminster, Birmingham, Dudley and Walsall.

At George Green LLP our specialist Family Solicitors are experts at advising on financial settlements on divorce. If you would like any further information or advice, call Mark Vandaele on 01902 796930 (mvandaele@georgegreen.co.uk) at our Wolverhampton office or Rachel Baker on 01384 340 580 (rbaker@georgegreen.co.uk) at our Cradley Heath office.