The Split season 3, episode 5: Freezing orders, saving relationships and second marriages

It’s another drama filled week in The Split. In this blog post, family and divorce lawyer Natalie Lester picks out some of the key storylines from episode 5 and shares her own insight.

Tyler’s freezing order – what are they and are they really needed?

In episode 5 Tyler is exposed as a fraudster and an application is made against him to protect husband Zander’s assets. The usual purpose of a freezing order is to stop someone from selling or transferring an asset until a specific time or event, such as a financial settlement being reached. Typically, the types of assets involved in such cases include property and bank accounts.

Whilst freezing orders can be extremely effective, they are not always necessary. More often than not, the threat will turn out to be idle, or just badly-thought out and so easily dealt with by a robust letter, and an undertaking by the spouse – i.e. a legal promise to do (or not to do) something. However, there are occasions where one might genuinely be necessary and, in those circumstances, it is crucial to get legal advice to ensure you have complied with the strict conditions before trying to obtain a freezing order. The order will prevent your spouse (or former spouse) from being able to deal with those assets and sell or transfer them to a third party.

Lenny’s divorce – can the relationship be saved?

In this episode we also see that Hannah offers to talk to Lenny because she doesn’t think that their marriage is broken. She says that if a marriage can be fixed, it is worth a try. We always explore the chance of reconciliation with our clients, usually at the initial meeting. If clients are not in the right headspace or have not quite made their mind up as to whether their relationship is over, we will encourage them to speak to their partner, friends and family to see if there could be another option other than separation.

Ruth and Ronnie – what to think about when marrying again

At the end of the episode Ruth has put together a romantic dinner for Ronnie to win him back with help from Liv and Gael. Ruth has given it a lot of thought; it takes a lot to divorce and even more to marry again. Second marriages are common and finding love again is to be celebrated. In some of these situations, parties have accumulated wealth prior to their second marriage or have children from their first marriage and it is important to get legal advice on whether a prenup might be required.

Read our blog post for The Split Season 3 series here:

• Episode 1: A divorce lawyer’s view of the last season of BBC’s family law drama
• Episode 2: Fact-checking and myth-busting season 3, episode 2 of The Split
• Episode 3: A family and divorce lawyer’s take on ‘nesting’
• Episode 4: Dividing the family assets post-divorce
• Episode 6: A positive end to season 3 of The Split