International Enforcement of Financial Orders

International Enforcement of Financial Orders UK

People often need swift and strategic cross-border enforcement of divorce and financial remedy orders.

Our specialist, multinational and multilingual team helps global families turn court orders into real world outcomes whether you need to enforce an overseas order in England and Wales or to enforce an English or Welsh order abroad through our international network.

Why choose IMD Solicitors?

Specialists in international family law. We act daily in cases involving assets, parties and proceedings in multiple jurisdictions.
Nationwide presence, global connections. Our team based in London, Manchester and Birmingham acts throughout England and Wales, working with established overseas partners to take swift local action when required.
Commercial, outcome focused strategy. We prioritise enforceability from the outset tracing assets, securing protective measures, and coordinating steps at home and abroad.
Clear, practical communication. Multilingual support and pragmatic advice for international clients.

We can advise and help you throughout the process. Speak to our International Enforcement Team based in London, Manchester and Birmingham

Our expert family law solicitors are ready to help. To arrange an initial consultation with an international enforcement lawyer call us on 0330 107 0107 or request a free call back today.

How our International Enforcement solicitors can help

International Enforcement of Financial Orders

A) Enforcing international orders in England and Wales

We advise on recognition and enforcement of:

Financial orders (maintenance, lump sums, property adjustment) made by overseas courts
Divorce decrees (where recognition is necessary to underpin enforcement)
Costs orders from foreign proceedings

Possible routes include:

Registration or recognition of foreign orders (via legislative, treaty and/or common-law mechanisms)
Judgment debt enforcement (orders for sale, charging orders, third-party debt orders, attachment of earnings, information orders)
Protective measures (freezing injunctions, disclosure orders, delivery up/sale)
Committal and compliance proceedings where justified

We identify and implement the most efficient pathway based on the country of origin, order type and applicable English and Welsh enforcement framework.

B) Enforcing English and Welsh orders abroad

Where the respondent or their assets are located outside England and Wales, we:

Assess enforceability of your order in the relevant foreign jurisdiction
Liaise with our international partners to secure local recognition or registration
Coordinate timing and execution (mirror orders, protective filings, asset preservation, disclosure)
Supervise the enforcement process to ensure swift and proportionate recovery

Our global network means you keep one lead legal team, while local experts carry out the necessary enforcement steps overseas.

What the process involves

Initial assessment

We review your order, identify target assets and jurisdictions, and flag recognition or enforcement options.

Strategy and protective measures

We secure interim protections in England and Wales (freezing or disclosure orders) and coordinate parallel steps abroad.

Recognition/registration

We pursue the correct process to “domesticate” the order, in England and Wales or overseas.

Execution

We employ the most effective enforcement tools available under the relevant system.

Follow-through

We monitor compliance, recover sums due, and adjust tactics as needed.

Common scenarios

Overseas maintenance order requires enforcement against assets or income in England and Wales
English financial remedy order needs enforcement against property or accounts in Europe, the Middle East or North America
Respondent relocates after divorce mirror orders and coordinated action are required to prevent asset dissipation
Complex international asset structures (companies, trusts, crypto) necessitate coordinated multi-jurisdictional enforcement

Evidence and asset tracing

We assist in obtaining the documentation enforcement courts expect—bank, land registry and company records, third-party disclosure—and, where needed, instruct forensic or accounting experts. We can also apply for orders for information and disclosure in England and Wales to support enforcement abroad.

Timescales and costs

Enforcement timeframes vary according to jurisdiction, asset type and cooperation levels. We provide clear, stage-based cost estimates and focus on proportionate recovery. Fixed-fee stages are available for initial reviews and strategic advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I enforce a foreign divorce or maintenance order in England and Wales?

Often yes, though the correct process depends on the country and type of order. We will identify the applicable recognition and enforcement routes for your situation.

I have an English financial remedy order—how do I enforce it abroad?

We coordinate with our overseas partners to register or recognise your order locally and then enforce against assets such as property, salaries or shares.

Will the English court freeze assets if I fear they’ll disappear?

Where appropriate, English courts can grant freezing and disclosure orders. We can also obtain protective measures abroad through our local partners.

Do I need to begin new proceedings overseas?

In many cases, yes. Most countries require recognition or registration before local enforcement. We handle that step through our international network.

Speak to our International Enforcement Team at our London, Manchester or Birmingham offices

Our international family law team supports clients across England and Wales, and globally through our trusted partner firms. Call us on 0330 107 0107 or request a free call back today.

Example of cases we have dealt with:

F v F - Acted for a German husband in a complex financial remedy matter. He decided to instruct IMD Solicitors after he had lost trust in his previously instructed solicitors and feared that he would not achieve a favourable outcome from the proceedings. The relevant assets were spread across the globe with some located in the UK (including a multi-million pound business), Gibraltar, Spain, Dubai, and Poland. The overall value of assets exceeded £24 million. The husband had been cut off from the matrimonial assets and excluded from control of the business that had been established by his family. The case involved the instruction of numerous experts, for business valuations, Capital Gains Tax reports, and opinions on the enforcement of orders in foreign jurisdictions, and dealing with several applications, including applications for orders to freeze assets, prevent the disposition of assets, for the joinder of parties, and to litigate conduct issues. The final result exceeded the client’s expectations.

L v L - We were instructed by a mother in a complex international children matter. She was required by orders of the UK courts to return the child to the UK from Poland. She had travelled with the child to Poland but, following unsuccessful application to extend her stay there in August 2017, she decided not to return to the UK because the child disclosed sexual abuse by a member of the paternal family and the father. In September 2018, the Polish court dismissed the father’s Hague Convention application for the child's return on the basis of Article 13(b), a decision which the father appealed. In March 2019, the father applied to the UK High Court for an order for the child’s return pursuant to the procedure set out in Article 11(6) – (8) of the Brussels IIA Regulation. Despite the father's unsuccessful Hague Convention application in Poland, the UK court ordered the return of the child. Article 11 does not allow the court of the returning country much discretion. After all of this, the mother instructed IMD Solicitors to apply to discharge the orders of the UK Court for the return of the child. Even in the face of the fact that most applications to discharge such return orders fail, we succeeded. We are currently awaiting a decision in the UK courts on a further application for the transfer of jurisdiction to the Polish courts where the mother resides with the child.

G v P - We represent a Spanish mother in respect of an urgent application for a Child Arrangements Order and Specific Issue Order in the UK seeking the relocation of the child to Spain. This was after the return of the child to the UK under Hague Convection proceedings which this mother lost in Spain. She was asking for an order for the relocation of the child back to Spain and an urgent interim Child Arrangements Order to allow her to see the child pending the final outcome of the UK proceedings. IMD successfully argued that, regardless of the return of the child to the UK under the Hague Convention, the mother should be allowed unsupervised overnight contact with the child. We were delighted to be able to secure her contact with the child for Christmas and she said that it was the best Christmas gift she could have wished for. The outcome of the application for the relocation is pending.

S v V - We currently represent the father in Child Arrangements Order proceedings issued by the mother in relation to variation of a UK order made in the face of numerous other international proceedings. He is an Italian National who has been living in France for the last 20 years and the mother is a Lithuanian national. The child is now 11 years old and proceedings concerning the child have been ongoing in various jurisdictions for the majority of the child`s life. Contested divorce proceedings including child arrangements took place in Monaco. The French Court and authorities were also involved, and various proceedings had been ongoing between parties since 2013 in France and Monaco. The parties’ divorce was pronounced in Monaco. Thereafter, in December 2020, the mother submitted an application to relocate to England with the child, and the relocation took place in June 2021. Upon relocation, the she lodged a child arrangement order application, seeking to register a judgment made in Monaco and to vary the same in respect of the contact arrangements between the father and the child. The father seeks for the child’s return to Monaco. Due to the parties’ mutual allegations and the associated international elements, various authorities and courts that have been involved in the case, the local authority has become involved with the family and a guardian has been instructed to represent the child in the UK proceedings. At present, these proceedings in England are ongoing and the outcome of the professional reports regarding the family are awaited.

P v P - We have acted for the Respondent Husband in relation to the financial remedy proceedings in the UK. The parties had various assets in the UK and Romania consisting mainly of the portfolio of properties but conduct issues were raised by the Wife due to a business of the Husband over which she had lost control and her allegations of dissipation of assets. The value of assets excluding the business were in a region of £3 million.

K v K - We act in financial remedy proceedings for a wife who is a Polish national. The matter's complexity mainly comes from a dispute between the parties around land in Poland. Its value was initially in dispute but was then assessed by a joint expert to be in the region of half a million pounds. The total assets in this case are estimated to be worth over £1 million. The land in Poland is a subject to contract with a third party and is being leased as a photovoltaic (solar) farm. The division of the land to achieve an equal share of the assets is complicated due to the contract in place and plans for the future use of the land. Currently the parties are awaiting a final hearing but efforts are being made to reach a settlement with the aid of alternative dispute resolution and in order to save the parties money and avoid further delays.

R v O - We acted pro bono and worked together with a law firm in Poland to ensure that the Costa Rican Mother regains access to her child. The Mother's only child was abducted from the UK in 2014. The Mother was successful with the abduction case and the UK family courts ordered the return of the child. The orders were recognised in Poland but unfortunately due to various issues with the Mother's immigration status and court's delays in Poland, the orders were never enforced. The Mother was facing removal from the UK and prospects of never seeing her child again. We have corresponded with various courts in Poland dealing with international abduction matters and we decided that an application for contact should be issued rather than any proceedings for further enforcement of the orders, as the Mother had not seen the child for around 7 years. At the same we secured the Mother's stay in the UK making successful outside of immigration rules application
to extend her stay. We now receive regular photos from the Mother with her daughter, as face to face contact is taking place. We helped to secure an order of the Polish courts for the Mother to see the child regularly in person, whilst when she instructed us she was facing a prospect of never seeing her child again and being deported to Costa Rica.