Divorce Financial Settlements.

Yes, you can. You can also agree to split your finances informally without court intervention, but going down either of these routes means you risk your partner claiming for finances at a later date.

The most common example of this is with the family home where many couples will informally agree to split it 50/50. However, when one person’s financial situation changes, or their outgoings increase, they may re-think this and this is where arguments begin. They are fully entitled to do so as there is no formal arrangement.

Formal financial arrangements agree a full and final split that can only be varied further down the line through the court. However, the likelihood of success of this variation is slim.

Not normally. The court doesn’t look at who did what to whom. It only seeks to divide finances on a needs basis.

The only exception where the court will modify the divorce financial settlement is if there is domestic violence involved that has affected the victim’s long-term ability to work.

Two examples of when the court may weigh the division of assets in favour of one party include:

Example 1 – Future earnings. This point analyses whether one part sacrificed career progression for the marriage, for example, to look after any children. In this instance, the court will likely compensate for this sacrifice in the financial settlement as the party has less capacity to earn in the future.

Example 2 – Child custody. The parent who is awarded custody of any children will likely receive a higher financial share of assets to protect the children’s wellbeing.

Example 3 – Extreme domestic violence. As highlighted above, if there have been extreme domestic violence cases that caused a lasting injury to one party and, therefore, impacted that parties ability to earn in the future. In this instance, the court may weigh the assets in the victim’s favour to compensate for their future earning loss.

If you have questions regarding the division of the marital assets, please don’t hesitate to contact our solicitors on 020 3007 5500.

Prenuptial agreements aren’t legally binding but they can hold legal weight. This means your prenup may not be followed to the letter, but in the event either side wants to depart from what was agreed, a judge may ask why.

Only in circumstances where the prenuptial agreement has been correctly drafted, regularly reviewed, and is deemed fair to both parties will the agreement hold any legal weight in court.

For more information on your prenuptial agreement’s legal weight, please visit our article on ‘What is a prenup and how do they work?‘.

We are currently unable to offer legal aid in any capacity as we lack the necessary legal aid certificate. We also don’t offer pro bono divorce financial settlement work at present.