Dealing with your finances is one of the most important steps you’ll take when settling your divorce. You’ll have to divide everything from your marital home to your pensions and come to an agreement on how you will split some valuable assets.
Here, you’ll find a series of guides designed to help you understand how your finances may be taken into account during divorce. Find answers to all the questions you have about property, pensions, inheritances and debts on divorce.
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Mortgages and divorce
When you come to divide your assets on divorce, your marital home is likely to be the biggest asset you have to split. So, what happens to your mortgage when your marriage ends?
In your guide to mortgages and divorce, you’ll find advice on paying your mortgage when you separate, how you should deal with this debt, and your rights and responsibilities.
You’ll also find answers to questions about property ownership, how you can transfer your mortgage into a sole name and what happens if you’re in negative equity.
Debts and divorce
As part of your financial settlement on divorce, you will also have to agree on how you split any debt that you and your spouse might have.
In this complete guide, you’ll find out how debts should be dealt with during divorce. You’ll find handy advice about the powers courts have to deal with debt, what are considered ‘joint debts’ and whether you have to split any of your spouse’s debts when your marriage ends.
You’ll also find answers to questions about common debts such as mortgages, credit cards and loans.
Property and divorce
Dividing your marital home and any other property you own can be one of the most complex and emotive issues that you will encounter during your divorce.
Here, you’ll find answers to any questions you have about what happens to your property when your marriage ends. Find out whether you can stay in your home during the divorce process, and what happens if your property is held in your ex-spouse’s name.
If you can’t agree on the split of your property, you’ll also find useful advice on the factors a court will take into account when deciding how to split property assets.
Who gets the marital home on divorce?
In a lot of marriages, the family home will be the biggest asset that you own. As well as being important financially, it may also represent security for your children and you may have an emotional attachment to the property.
Here, you’ll find answers to all the common questions you may have about who gets the marital home on divorce. Find out who pays the mortgage, whether you have to sell your home, and whether having children affects what happens to your home.
If you can’t agree who gets your home, you’ll also find useful advice regarding the court process and the factors a court will consider when dividing your property assets.
Divorce and pensions
When you come to agree a financial settlement on divorce, a pension is one of the most valuable assets you will have to divide.
So, how do you deal with pensions on divorce? This complete guide looks at how pensions are divided on divorce, how the value of a pension is determined, and what happens to state and additional state pensions.
You’ll also get useful advice on the various options you have for splitting pension assets.
Bankruptcy and divorce
If you or your spouse is involved in bankruptcy proceedings prior to, or during your divorce, there will be an effect on any settlement.
In this comprehensive guide you’ll find out what happens if bankruptcy occurs before or during divorce, and whether the timing of insolvency matters. You’ll also find out what happens to your family home in the event of bankruptcy during divorce.
You’ll also find out whether a court can annul a bankruptcy, and whether insolvency affects child maintenance payments.
Hidden assets and divorce
To agree a financial settlement on divorce, you will have to provide full and honest disclosure of all your assets and income. However, there are cases when a spouse fails to declare assets in an attempt to avoid them being split when the marriage ends.
So, what assets do you have to disclose? What types of asset are currently hidden? And what happens if your spouse hides assets? In this guide, you’ll find answers to all the questions you may have about hiding assets.
You’ll also get great advice on what to do if you think your spouse is disposing of or hiding assets, as well as discover the consequences if assets are hidden.
Spending before divorce to reduce a settlement
One issue that sometimes arises is where a spouse seems to be spending (or moving) money before the divorce in at attempt to reduce the other party’s share of any financial settlement. But is this legal? How do you spot that this is happening? And can you stop it?
Reckless spending can in some cases be taken into account when arriving at a financial settlement. The spouse may have their own settlement reduced or be ordered to hand over assets. However, not all spending before a divorce will be considered inappropriate so it’s well worth reading further to understand the subtleties of what types of spending is and isn’t likely to be taken into account.
Inheritances and divorce
When you divorce, you’ll have to agree how you divide your assets. But what happens if one of you received an inheritance either before you got married or during the marriage?
Your comprehensive guide looks at how inheritances are dealt with during divorce. Find out under what circumstances an inheritance can be divided, how courts deal with inheritances on divorce, and what happens to inheritances you’re expecting to receive.
You’ll also find advice about how you can protect an inheritance to reduce the chances of it being divided when your marriage ends.
Paying for university fees after divorce
There are more than two million students in higher education across the UK. Many of these young adults remain financially dependent on their parents during their degree course, not just for the cost of fees but also for their living expenses. But, if you are divorced, who pays for your child’s higher education?
Here we explain the law regarding paying for older children, what options there are for applying for payments from a parent, how any existing financial orders may be affected, and what other funding options are available
Divorce and the family business
Splitting assets on divorce can be a complicated process, particularly if you are both part of a family business.
In this guide, you’ll find out whether a family business is considered a marital asset, how a business is valued, and whether your ex-spouse is entitled to a share of the value.
You’ll also find answers to questions about whether you have to go to court, and how you can protect your business in the event of divorce.
Pension attachment orders
When you’re dividing your property on divorce, your pension is likely to be one of the most valuable assets that you need to split.
There are various ways that pensions can be divided when your marriage ends. One way is through a pension attachment order, and this guide tells you everything you need to know about pension attachment orders.
Find out how a pension attachment order works, the pros and cons, and whether you have to go to court to obtain such an order.
Pension offsetting
A pension can be among the most valuable assets to be split when your marriage ends. There are several ways that pensions can be dealt with in your financial agreement, and one way is pension offsetting.
So, how does pension offsetting work? When is pension offsetting appropriate for you? And what are the pros and cons?
In this complete guide you’ll find out everything you need to know about pension offsetting alongside some examples of how this arrangement works.
Pension sharing orders
One of the most common ways that a pension is divided on divorce is through a pension sharing order. Many couples use this as an equitable way of splitting pension assets when their marriage ends.
But how does a pension sharing order work? Do you have to go to court to obtain one? And what about a pension lump sum?
In this complete guide, you’ll find out everything you need to know about pension sharing orders, including how pensions are valued and how you deal with pensions in payment.
The information on this website is to be considered a guide and is therefore not legal advice. You use this information with the understanding that Wiselaw does not accept liability for any direct or indirect losses as a result of anyone relying on or acting upon the information on this website. Whilst we endeavour to provide accurate information, Wiselaw does not accept liability for any errors or omissions on this website.
