Will I Get Half in a Divorce Settlement in the UK?
When you are going through a separation or divorce you need to know what you are likely to end up with as your divorce financial settlement. Without that information, or at least a broad idea of what you might reasonably expect to get, you may find the whole process of separating and getting divorced that much more traumatic.
In this blog, our family law solicitors answer your questions on whether you will get half in a divorce financial settlement and explain why some people may end up with more or less than half.
For expert family law advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form.
Does everyone get half the assets when they divorce?
There is no guarantee that you will get half the assets when you divorce. You may get less than half or you may get more than half. Every family is different and although the court starts from the premise that assets should be shared equally there are many reasons why a financial court order might be made that does not equally divide the assets and money equally between husband and wife.
Who decides if you get half the assets?
In an ideal world, you will reach a financial agreement with your separated husband or wife after having spoken to a family law solicitor or you will ask the solicitor to negotiate an agreement for you. Another alternative is to go to family mediation and reach an agreement in mediation. If you reach an agreement your financial settlement then needs to be converted into an agreed financial court order as part of the no-fault divorce proceedings.
If it is impossible to reach an agreement with your ex-spouse then either you or they can apply to the family court for a financial settlement. After financial disclosure and a series of court directions hearings, a final hearing will take place where the judge will hear evidence from each of you. The court will then make a binding financial court order.
The court will decide what percentage of the assets you will get based on statutory criteria and case law. As well as deciding whether you will get half the value of the family assets the court can decide if the family home should be sold or if you should get to keep the house but not get to receive a share of your spouse’s pension or the value of their investments or shares in the family business. There are normally many different ways in which a judge can split assets equally between husband and wife.
Who works out what half is in a divorce financial settlement?
Your husband or wife may tell you that they want to keep things amicable and split the money and property equally but to do that fairly you may need assets to be independently valued. For example, if your spouse says that you can keep the family home you need to know how much equity there is in the property if your spouse’s financial proposals are based on them keeping their pension or their shares in the family business. You will also need to know the true value of your spouse’s pension fund or the value of the family business. To get an accurate valuation of assets you may need to instruct a surveyor, pension actuary or forensic accountant to carry out valuations.
If assets are not accurately valued then you may not end up with half unless your agreement says every single asset will be sold and the money divided equally rather than some assets being retained by one of you as part of the negotiated deal or financial court order.
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Could I get more than half the property and assets?
There are some scenarios where you could receive more than half the money and property as your divorce financial settlement. For example:
If you signed a prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement that said you would get to keep more of the assets and the court thought it was fair to uphold the prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement in its entirety or partially
You owned a house or pension or family business before your marriage, the marriage is relatively short and your spouse can have their reasonable needs met without having to share all or some of your pre-marriage owned assets
You agree to receive more than half the assets but the deal is that you do not get ongoing spousal maintenance as your spouse is getting less than their half share of the property or other assets
You are the main carer of the children and you need more than 50% of the total asset pot to buy a new home for the children taking into account your reasonable housing needs and your mortgage capacity
Your spouse received an inheritance during the marriage and their housing or other needs can be met by using this inheritance whilst you need more than half of the family assets to meet your needs
Should I argue that I want half the assets as my divorce financial settlement?
A family law solicitor will tell you if you have a good case to get half or more than half the family assets as your divorce financial settlement. You can then decide whether it is worth the time and the potential legal fees of going to court and asking a judge to make a financial court order in your favour if your spouse will not agree to your requested financial settlement.
You may decide that it is best to compromise and reach a negotiated financial settlement or come to the view that as your estranged spouse is being so unreasonable about financial disclosure and the financial settlement that you have no alternative to ask the court to order that you get half the assets as your divorce financial settlement.
Your best option is to talk to a family law solicitor so you understand your rights and options to help you reach a fair divorce financial settlement.
For expert family law advice call our team for an appointment or complete our online enquiry form.
Robin Charrot
Feb 16, 2024
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6 minute read
Can My Ex-Wife Make a Claim on My Estate?
Many people assume that once they get their final order of divorce their ex-spouse has no further claims against them or their estate. Family lawyers and Will solicitors say that is not correct.
In this article, our lawyers look at when an ex-wife can make a claim against an estate and what you can do about it to protect your estate and your beneficiaries.
For expert family law and Will advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form.
Financial claims after a separation or divorce
When you separate or divorce your ex-partner their financial claims remain intact until you reach an enforceable agreement or the court makes a financial court order.
Even if you reach an agreement or the court makes a financial court order your ex-spouse may still retain all or some of their financial claims. That is why it is essential to use a family law solicitor to help you negotiate a financial settlement or to draw up your financial court order. It is equally important that your solicitor explains what the wording of the order means.
The only way you can achieve finality with no risk of further financial claims is if the court makes a clean break financial court order.
What is a clean break financial order?
A clean break financial court order can be made by agreement ( you and your ex-spouse ask a family judge to convert your agreement into a binding court order) or after a contested court hearing. Clean break orders can be confusing as there are 2 types:
Immediate – as soon as the court order is made your ex-spouse cannot make any further claims or they cannot do so once the order is implemented. For example, an order will be implemented after the sale of a family home, the agreed division of equity, and the pronouncement of your final order of divorce
Deferred – the clean break comes into effect when an event occurs. For example, if you are ordered to pay time-limited spousal maintenance the clean break may come into force when the spousal maintenance payments end. A deferred clean break can be confusing as the court order may allow the person receiving the spousal maintenance to apply to the court to extend the length of the spousal maintenance order or the person receiving the spousal maintenance may ask the court to make a lump sum payment or pension sharing order in their favour instead of them continuing to receive ongoing spousal maintenance. Some court orders do not allow the person receiving spousal maintenance to apply to court to extend the maintenance term
As clean breaks are complicated it is best to take legal advice on your financial settlement to see if you are likely to be able to achieve one and whether it is in your interests to do so. For example, if your ex-wife is in a new relationship and you think she will remarry you may not want to give your ex-wife more money to buy off her spousal maintenance claims. Why? Spousal maintenance automatically stops on re-marriage and it cannot be revived if the ex-wife’s second marriage breaks down. However, if an ex-wife cohabits rather than remarries you will only achieve a clean break if the spousal maintenance order provides for this.
Your priorities and goals
It is important that your family law solicitor takes their time to understand your priorities and goals. Some people are adamant that they want a clean break. There may be reasons for this, such as a bad experience in a first divorce, the future anticipated sale of a business, or wanting to protect your children from your ex-wife making a claim against your estate. Other people may be more sanguine about negotiating a clean break order. For example, if you do not have children and are not worried if your ex-wife tries to make a claim against your estate as you are leaving most of your money and property to charity and know that your executors can fight the claims in the unlikely event that your ex-wife brings a claim against your estate.
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Can your ex-wife make a claim against your estate?
Whether your ex-wife can make a claim against your estate will depend on whether you have a financial court order, its precise terms, and whether your ex-wife has remarried.
If you are concerned that your ex-wife may have a claim against your estate under the Inheritance Act then talk to a Will solicitor. She will still have a potential claim even if you make a Will and cut her out. That is because under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 anyone who falls into one of these categories of people has a potential claim against your estate:
A wife, husband, or civil partner
A former wife, husband, or civil partner (provided they have not remarried)
A child or someone treated as a child by the deceased
Someone who was living with the deceased for the 2 years before the deceased’s death
Anyone who immediately before the deceased’s death was financially dependent on them
A private client solicitor can provide you with estate planning advice and draw up a Will that reduces the risk of your ex-wife bringing a 1975 Act claim. They can also work with a specialist family law solicitor so you can explore whether it is worth asking the court to make your existing financial court order into a clean break order. This may be possible if, for example, the court left spousal maintenance open-ended because your ex-wife might need spousal maintenance in the future but she has been in a long-term cohabiting relationship so you think the time is right to secure a clean break.
At Evolve Family Law our family law solicitors work closely with our private client and Will lawyers and recommend that when you separate you think about making a Will or changing the terms of your existing Will.
For expert family law and Will advice call our team or complete our online enquiry form.
Robin Charrot
Dec 28, 2023
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6 minute read
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