Divorce & Separation advice

• As much as possible, try reaching agreements with your ex-partner on as many topics before involving legal professionals.
• But don’t shy away from legal advice. Separation is a complex issue and you may want to involve professionals to help you decide how to divide your financial assets and commitments fairly – known as a financial settlement.

• Speak to your financial providers to ensure necessary payments are not missed and your credit rating is protected while the divorce process concludes.
• Money in joint accounts is normally split on an equal basis regardless of who paid in what, but if in doubt seek professional advice.

• Your financial settlement on divorce might include an order on how to split the matrimonial home. If you decide to sell your home you have two choices – sell on the open market or to your ex-partner.
• If you rent, you may have to try to arrange a new tenancy agreement with your landlord. It may prove difficult to alter your rental term, so inform your landlord of this likelihood as soon as possible.

90% of parents sort out post-separation childcare between themselves; only 10% go to court.

• Parents of dependent children (mostly those aged 18 and under and still in full-time education) must ensure that their children’s wellbeing is provided for.
• You don’t need to involve the courts or the Child Maintenance Service. Agreeing provision with your ex-partner can keep costs down, and can help the emotional wellbeing of your child; but you still have recourse to the CMS and in some circumstances the courts if this arrangement breaks down.

• It is in your interests to seek to agree on a fair division of the assets you have built up during your marriage or civil partnership before involving legal professionals. The two biggest assets are often the matrimonial home and pensions.
• If you have concerns about what your ex-partner may be doing with matrimonial assets, such as failing to disclose them fully, then seek professional advice as soon as you can.

This is because alongside the matrimonial home, pensions are often the biggest assets to divide when you separate. There are three ways to divide pensions:

• Sharing: you are awarded a share of your ex-partner’s pensions, which would either be transferred to a pension scheme of your choosing or transferred into a separate pension in your name within the existing scheme.
• Attachment: you receive an agreed amount of your ex-partner’s net pension income, or a lump sum (or both), when it starts to pay out.
• Offsetting: the value of any pension is offset against other assets, such as the value of the family home.

The partner who may not have worked for some years while raising children can adopt their spouse's National Insurance contributions to ensure they receive the maximum state pension entitlement. You should continue to look for ways to save into a pension once you have separated so you have enough to live on in retirement.

• As much as possible, try reaching agreements with your ex-partner on as many topics before involving legal professionals.
• But don’t shy away from legal advice. Separation is a complex issue and you may want to involve professionals to help you decide how to divide your financial assets and commitments fairly – known as a financial settlement.

• Speak to your financial providers to ensure necessary payments are not missed and your credit rating is protected while the divorce process concludes.
• Money in joint accounts is normally split on an equal basis regardless of who paid in what, but if in doubt seek professional advice.

• Your financial settlement on divorce might include an order on how to split the matrimonial home. If you decide to sell your home you have two choices – sell on the open market or to your ex-partner.
• If you rent, you may have to try to arrange a new tenancy agreement with your landlord. It may prove difficult to alter your rental term, so inform your landlord of this likelihood as soon as possible.

• It is in your interests to seek to agree on a fair division of the assets you have built up during your marriage or civil partnership before involving legal professionals. The two biggest assets are often the matrimonial home and pensions.
• If you have concerns about what your ex-partner may be doing with matrimonial assets, such as failing to disclose them fully, then seek professional advice as soon as you can.

This is because alongside the matrimonial home, pensions are often the biggest assets to divide when you separate. There are three ways to divide pensions:

• Sharing: you are awarded a share of your ex-partner’s pensions, which would either be transferred to a pension scheme of your choosing or transferred into a separate pension in your name within the existing scheme.
• Attachment: you receive an agreed amount of your ex-partner’s net pension income, or a lump sum (or both), when it starts to pay out.
• Offsetting: the value of any pension is offset against other assets, such as the value of the family home.

The partner who may not have worked for some years while raising children can adopt their spouse's National Insurance contributions to ensure they receive the maximum state pension entitlement. You should continue to look for ways to save into a pension once you have separated so you have enough to live on in retirement.

• As much as possible, try reaching agreements with your ex-partner on as many topics before involving legal professionals.
• But don’t shy away from legal advice. Separation is a complex issue and you may want to involve professionals to help you decide how to divide your financial assets and commitments fairly – known as a financial settlement.

• Speak to your financial providers to ensure necessary payments are not missed and your credit rating is protected while the divorce process concludes.
• Money in joint accounts is normally split on an equal basis regardless of who paid in what, but if in doubt seek professional advice.

• Your financial settlement on divorce might include an order on how to split the matrimonial home. If you decide to sell your home you have two choices – sell on the open market or to your ex-partner.
• If you rent, you may have to try to arrange a new tenancy agreement with your landlord. It may prove difficult to alter your rental term, so inform your landlord of this likelihood as soon as possible.

• It is in your interests to seek to agree on a fair division of the assets you have built up during your marriage or civil partnership before involving legal professionals. The two biggest assets are often the matrimonial home and pensions.
• If you have concerns about what your ex-partner may be doing with matrimonial assets, such as failing to disclose them fully, then seek professional advice as soon as you can.

This is because alongside the matrimonial home, pensions are often the biggest assets to divide when you separate, especially if you are separating after a long union. There are three ways to divide pensions:

• Sharing: you are awarded a share of your ex-partner’s pensions, which would be transferred into a separate fund in your name.
• Attachment: you receive an agreed amount of your ex-partner’s net pension income, or lump sum if it hasn't already been paid (or both).
• Offsetting: the value of any pension is offset against other assets, such as the value of the family home or other savings and investments.

The partner who may not have worked for some years (perhaps while raising children) can adopt their spouse’s National Insurance contributions to ensure they receive the maximum state pension entitlement. Don’t underestimate the importance of pensions as a proportion of the income you have to manage in retirement.