Divorce Financial Planning

Your life may look quite different after your divorce.  It’s important to understand the full picture of what that means for your finances, which requires a new roadmap.

We’ll sit down with you and review every aspect of your new financial life to create a cashflow model—a snapshot of all your assets, investments, debts, income and expenditure.  You may also want to obtain a copy of your credit report, which can highlight any joint liabilities and may impact any decisions you need to make about finding a new home.

With all this information in hand, together we take a trip into the future—factoring in things like calculated rates of growth, how you think your income will increase over time, what we think inflation is going to do, interest rates…and as much of the “unexpected” as we can.  If your divorce settlement includes a lump sum, we’ll use cash flow modelling to determine how much of that should be kept in cash, how much should be kept aside for emergency short-term expenditure and how much should be invested.

The family home is often the largest asset to consider in a divorce, and the one with the most significant emotional and practical implications as well—particularly when there are children involved.   There are a number of options.  You could, of course, sell the home and divide the proceeds—or one partner could buy out the other.  You could also make an arrangement where you keep the home with one partner remaining in it with your children until they finish school.

Your divorce financial planner can help you think through the implications of your options and arrive at the decision that makes the most sense for you and your plans for your new future.

Pensions are often overlooked and can be the biggest asset to consider in a divorce settlement, after the family home. You’ve contributed to your marriage in a multitude of ways, so it often makes sense to consider pensions as a joint asset to be split in the same way as a property.

Pensions can be a valuable way to help secure your long-term future.  Having a smaller pension than your partner does not necessarily mean you’ll get less in your divorce. Your financial adviser can help you evaluate your options.

When it comes to pensions and divorce, numerous outcomes need to be considered. So, it’s always advisable to consult a divorce financial planner and a specialist family solicitor at the earliest opportunity and ensure the best resolution for both you and your soon-to-be-former spouse.

In addition to your pension, you will likely have other savings and investments which could form part of your divorce settlement.  We can help you split your jointly held investments and reinvest them based on your new objectives and your new attitude to risk. You may, for example, be more cautious or have a lower capacity for loss.

Needless to say, we can manage any charges and tax implications for you.

There will be lots of post-divorce admin to do. Any insurance policies that you have in place, for example, will need to be reviewed to determine whether or not they are still appropriate.

You may want somebody other than your ex-spouse to be the beneficiary of your various policies, so we may need to arrange new ones that are cost-effective and provide the right cover.

The same applies to trusts—new trustees will need to be appointed and beneficiaries changed. And lasting powers of attorney may need to be updated, along with executors, for your Will.

Making a plan for your life after a divorce can seem overwhelming, but finding a divorce financial planner you can trust can help put your mind at ease about your future.

Every divorce and every situation is unique, so a personalised approach is incredibly valuable. It’s so important not to feel rushed, and to know where you can turn for clear answers and reliable support.