CG22423 - Transfer of assets: between husband and wife or between civil partners: separation, divorce or dissolution: Court Order

Where an asset is transferred by a Court Order, which is not a consent order, but which is made before the date of the decree absolute or before the date the dissolution order is made final, the date of disposal is the date of the Court Order.

Where an asset is transferred under a consent order before the decree absolute or before the date the dissolution order was made final so that the Court is giving effect to a prior agreement between the parties, the date of disposal is not straightforward.

The date of disposal in these cases may be important where

• the value of the asset transferred changes substantially between the date of any agreement and the date of the consent order,

or

• the date of the agreement was in the year of permanent separation, so that a disposal at that date would be at no gain/no loss while the date of the consent order was in a later year, so that a disposal at that date would be at market value.

If either of these considerations applies but there is little or no tax at stake you can accept the date of disposal agreed by the parties. Otherwise you should obtain

• a full copy of the consent order
• a copy of any prior agreement between the parties
• copies of any correspondence between the parties or their solicitors explaining the terms of any such agreement.

These may enable you to resolve the matter, but if not Capital Gains Technical Group can give further advice.