Financial settlement in divorce

What a settlement usually covers

• The family home and any other property, and any mortgage on it
• Savings, investments and other capital
• Pensions, which are often one of the largest assets
• Debts, including joint loans, credit cards and overdrafts
• Whether any maintenance is paid, and for how long

Two separate processes

It helps to keep two things apart. Ending your marriage is a court process that follows a fixed timetable and does not look at your finances. Sorting your finances is about who keeps what: the home, savings, pensions and debts. You can run them side by side, but one does not automatically decide the other.

• Ending your marriage: the divorce application, conditional order and final order
• Sorting your finances: an agreement between you, and usually a financial court order to make it binding
• CalmSplit's £159 fee covers the divorce itself, not a financial settlement

How settlements are reached

• Direct discussion between you, which is the cheapest route where things are amicable
• Mediation, where a neutral mediator helps you reach an agreement
• Solicitor negotiation, where each of you takes advice
• Court proceedings, which is the last resort if you cannot agree

Making it stick

An informal agreement, even in writing, can usually be reopened. A consent order approved by a judge is binding and can be enforced. Where a clean break is appropriate, the order can also end future claims between you.

When to get advice

Consider independent legal or financial advice where there are pensions of real value, a business, complex property, significant debts, or where you are unsure whether what you have agreed is reasonable. CalmSplit can refer you to an independent solicitor. That does not change your £159 CalmSplit fee, and we do not take a fee for the referral.