Guide to Divorce Financial Settlements
in England and Wales
Key Takeaways
- A divorce financial settlement divides property, pensions, savings and debts. It is a separate legal process from the divorce itself. The Final Order ends the marriage but does not divide your finances.
- Without a court-approved financial order, either party can make a financial claim against the other at any time after divorce, including against assets acquired long after the marriage ended.
- The starting point for dividing assets is equality, but the final outcome depends on each party's needs, the welfare of any children and the length of the marriage.
- Around 90% of financial settlements are agreed without a contested court hearing, through negotiation, mediation or solicitor-led discussions.
- The government consultation on reforming financial remedies law is open now. "A fairer end to relationships" closes 14 August 2026. The existing Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 framework applies in full until any reform is passed.
Getting divorced ends the marriage. It does not end your financial ties to your spouse.
Most people assume the Final Order wraps everything up: the house, the pensions, the savings, the debts. It doesn't. A divorce financial settlement in England and Wales is a separate legal process entirely. Without a court-approved financial order, either party can make financial claims against the other at any point after divorce. Years later. Decades later. Including against assets acquired long after the marriage ended.
A financial settlement determines how property, pensions, savings and debts are divided between you and your former spouse. Most couples reach an agreement without going to court. The agreement is then formalised in a consent order approved by a judge. This guide explains how the process works, what the court considers fair, what happens to the family home and pensions, and how to protect yourself if you can't agree. If you'd like to talk through your own situation first, our divorce financial settlement solicitors offer a free 30-minute consultation, Monday to Friday. No obligation.
What is a divorce financial settlement?
A divorce financial settlement is the legal process of dividing everything of financial value between you and your former spouse: property, pensions, savings, investments and debts. It also covers any ongoing financial support, such as spousal maintenance. The formal legal term is a "financial remedy order", though most people call it a financial settlement or financial agreement.
It is important to understand that a financial settlement is completely separate from the divorce. The divorce ends the marriage. The financial settlement ends the financial relationship. You can be legally divorced and still have unresolved financial ties to your former spouse that remain open indefinitely.
This matters more than most people realise. Without a court-approved financial order, either party keeps the legal right to make a financial claim against the other in the future. That includes property, savings, pensions and even inheritance received years after the divorce. There is no automatic deadline. The only things that bar a future claim are remarriage of the claiming party, the death of either party or a clean break order.
A financial settlement can be reached in two ways. If both parties agree, the terms are recorded in a document called a consent order, which a judge approves to make it legally binding. If agreement is not possible, either party can apply to the court and a judge will decide. The vast majority of cases settle without a contested hearing. But only a court-approved order fully protects both parties.
For more on what a settlement typically covers, see our guide to financial settlement agreements in divorce.
⚠ The remarriage trap
If you remarry before obtaining a financial order, you permanently lose your right to make certain financial claims against your former spouse. This includes claims for property, pension and capital. Your former spouse, however, retains the right to claim against you unless they have also remarried or a clean break order has been made. Always resolve the financial settlement before remarrying.
How does the court decide what's fair?
There is no formula. No spreadsheet. No fixed percentage that applies to every case. When a court decides a divorce financial settlement in England and Wales, the aim is fairness and what is fair depends entirely on the circumstances.
The legal framework comes from Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, which sets out the factors every judge must weigh. The starting point, established by the House of Lords in White v White [2000], is the yardstick of equality. Equal division of matrimonial assets is where the court begins, not where it necessarily ends. The final outcome can be 50/50, 60/40, or something quite different, depending on what the individual circumstances require.
Before considering anything else, the court gives first priority to the welfare of any dependent children, particularly their housing arrangements and day-to-day financial needs. After that, the court works through eight factors under Section 25:
- Income, earning capacity and financial resources: what each party has now and is likely to have in the future, including whether either could reasonably increase their earnings.
- Financial needs and obligations: not just day-to-day costs but the ability to rehouse, support dependents and meet ongoing commitments.
- Standard of living during the marriage: the lifestyle the family enjoyed acts as a reference point, though it rarely dictates the outcome directly.
- Age and length of the marriage: longer marriages generally produce more equal outcomes. Short marriages with few shared assets are treated differently.
- Physical or mental disability: affects both earning capacity and what each party reasonably needs going forward.
- Contributions to the family: this is broader than money. Raising children, managing the home and supporting a spouse's career count equally alongside financial contributions. White v White established that there should be no discrimination between the breadwinner and the homemaker.
- Conduct: only relevant in exceptional cases where it would be unfair to ignore it. Hiding assets, reckless dissipation of money and serious financial abuse can all be brought in. A general unhappy marriage history does not affect the outcome.
- Benefits lost through divorce: mainly pension rights, death-in-service benefits and any survivor's pension that would have been payable had the marriage continued.
In most cases, and particularly where assets are modest, needs end up driving the outcome more than strict equality. If one party cannot rehouse, cannot return to work quickly or is the primary carer for young children, the settlement will reflect that, even if it means an unequal division of assets.
For a closer look at the types of orders the court can make, see our guide to what a financial order in divorce involves.
What is the difference between matrimonial and non-matrimonial assets?
Not everything you own goes into the pot. The court draws a distinction between matrimonial assets, built up during the marriage through the joint efforts of both parties, and non-matrimonial assets, which belong to one party alone.
Matrimonial assets typically include the family home (regardless of whose name it is in), joint savings, investments made during the marriage and pensions accrued while you were together. These are the assets the sharing principle applies to. Equal division is the starting point.
Non-matrimonial assets typically include property owned before the marriage, inheritance received by one party, gifts from third parties and assets that were kept entirely separate throughout the marriage. These may be protected from sharing, but that protection is not automatic.
Where matrimonial assets are not sufficient to meet both parties' needs, the court can draw on non-matrimonial assets to make up the shortfall. Needs can override source.
Standish v Standish [2025] UKSC 26
In July 2025, the Supreme Court handed down the most significant judgment on financial settlements in nearly 20 years. The case involved a 15-year marriage where the husband had transferred approximately ÂŁ80m to his wife in 2017 for inheritance tax planning purposes. When divorce proceedings began, she argued those funds had become matrimonial assets and should be shared equally.
The Supreme Court disagreed. It confirmed that the sharing principle applies only to matrimonial property. A transfer of assets between spouses, even one that puts funds in the other party's name, does not automatically make those funds matrimonial. For an asset to cross that line, both parties must have genuinely treated it as shared over time. Simply placing it in a name for administrative or tax reasons is not enough.
The result was the largest reduction of a divorce award in English legal history: from ÂŁ45m to ÂŁ25m.
For anyone with significant pre-marital assets, inheritance or family wealth, the ruling reinforces the value of a prenuptial agreement. See our guides to protecting your assets during divorce and what happens to inheritance in divorce.
What assets are included in a divorce financial settlement?
A divorce financial settlement covers everything of financial value, on both sides of the ledger.
Assets typically included:
- The family home and any other property, whether in the UK or overseas
- Savings accounts, cash ISAs and other deposits
- Investments, shares and bonds
- Pensions, often the largest asset in a marriage and one of the most commonly undervalued
- Business interests, company shares and partnership stakes
- Vehicles
- Personal property worth more than ÂŁ500, including jewellery, art, watches and antiques
Debts are included too:
- Mortgages
- Personal loans and car finance
- Credit card balances
- Any other liabilities, joint or individual
The settlement considers the net position, assets minus debts, not just what you own. A property worth ÂŁ500,000 with a ÂŁ300,000 mortgage contributes ÂŁ200,000 to the pot, not ÂŁ500,000.
From 2 December 2025: digital assets are legally recognised property
The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 came into force on 2 December 2025. It confirmed that digital assets, including cryptocurrency, NFTs and other token-based holdings, can be personal property in England and Wales. The Act itself says nothing about divorce or financial settlements.
But the practical position has always been the same: crypto and other digital assets are assets of value, and like any other asset of value, they must be declared on Form E and can form part of the financial settlement. The HMRC Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF), effective 1 January 2026, requires exchanges to report users' holdings to HMRC, making digital assets significantly harder to conceal.
Our divorce settlement calculator gives an early estimate of how assets might be divided, and our guides to calculating your divorce asset split and estimating your settlement cover the methodology in more detail.
What happens to the family home in a divorce settlement?
For most couples, the family home is the most valuable asset in the settlement and the one that generates the most disagreement. There is no single answer to what happens to it. The court has four main options.
Sell and divide the proceeds
The property is sold and the equity is split according to the settlement terms. This is the most straightforward outcome and often the right one where neither party can afford to buy the other out, or where both want a clean break.
Transfer to one spouse
One party keeps the property; the other receives an equivalent share through other assets: savings, pension, a lump sum or some combination. This requires the mortgage lender's consent if there is an outstanding mortgage, and the lender will need to be satisfied that the remaining party can service it alone.
Mesher order
The sale is deferred until a specific trigger event. Most commonly this is the youngest child turning 18, finishing full-time education, the resident parent remarrying or the resident parent choosing to sell. Both parties retain a defined share of the equity in the meantime.
A Mesher order is most commonly used where there are school-age children and the primary carer could not afford to rehouse independently if the property were sold immediately. It prioritises stability for the children while preserving the other party's equity. It is not without complications. Both names remain on the mortgage. Both remain legally liable for repayments. Neither party can easily move on financially until the trigger occurs.
Martin order
Similar to a Mesher order but typically used where there are no dependent children. The resident spouse has the right to remain in the property for life or until remarriage, at which point it is sold and the proceeds divided.
The court's overriding priority is the welfare of any children involved. If keeping the children in the family home is in their best interests, the court will look for a structure that achieves it, even if that means deferring a clean financial break for years.
See our detailed guides to what a Mesher order is and who pays the mortgage under a Mesher order.
How are pensions handled in a divorce settlement?
Pensions are often the largest financial asset in a marriage and the most frequently underestimated. Many couples focus almost entirely on the family home and treat pensions as an afterthought. That is a mistake that can leave one party significantly worse off in retirement.
Every pension must be disclosed and considered as part of the financial settlement. There are three ways the court can deal with them.
Pension sharing order
A percentage of one spouse's pension is transferred into a new pension in the other party's name. This is the cleanest outcome. Both parties walk away with independent pension rights and have no ongoing financial dependency on each other. The percentage is specified in the order, which includes a pension sharing annex served on the pension provider. Implementation typically takes up to four months after the order is made.
Pension offsetting
One spouse keeps their pension intact. The other receives a larger share of different assets, usually property or savings, to compensate. This avoids the complexity of a pension sharing order but requires an accurate comparison of values, which is where errors tend to happen.
Pension attachment order
Payments are diverted from the pension when it comes into payment. This is rarely used because it creates ongoing dependency on the former spouse's retirement decisions and does not produce a clean break.
Valuing a pension and why CETVs can mislead
To value a pension for settlement purposes, each provider issues a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV), an estimate of what the pension would be worth if transferred out of the scheme. You are entitled to one free CETV per 12-month period. Providers have up to three months to issue it.
For defined contribution pensions, including personal pensions, SIPPs and most workplace schemes, the CETV is a reasonably reliable figure.
For defined benefit and public sector pensions, it frequently is not.
NHS, Teachers, Civil Service, Police, Armed Forces and local government pensions promise a guaranteed income for life, indexed to inflation, with survivor benefits. The cost of replicating those benefits on the open market is almost always significantly higher than the CETV suggests. Accepting a CETV figure for a defined benefit pension without specialist valuation is one of the most common and most costly mistakes in divorce settlements.
When you need a PODE
A Pension on Divorce Expert (PODE) is a specialist actuary who provides an independent assessment of what a pension is actually worth and what sharing percentage would produce a genuinely fair outcome. For any substantial defined benefit or public sector pension, a PODE report is not optional. It is essential. Without one, it is possible to agree a split that looks balanced on paper but leaves one party substantially worse off in retirement.
The PLSA updated pension sharing administration charges in September 2025. Obtaining a CETV now costs up to ÂŁ500 (previously up to ÂŁ250). Processing a pension sharing order via internal transfer in a defined benefit scheme now costs ÂŁ3,000 to ÂŁ4,250.
For more detail, see our guides to divorce and pension sharing and how a pension is split in divorce. MoneyHelper also has a clear independent guide to splitting pensions on divorce.
Spousal maintenance: when does it apply?
Spousal maintenance is a regular payment from one former spouse to the other after divorce. It is not automatic and it is not awarded in every case. It applies only where there is a genuine and ongoing disparity in income that cannot reasonably be addressed any other way.
It is most commonly awarded where one spouse gave up work or reduced their earning capacity to care for children during the marriage and cannot immediately achieve financial independence after the divorce. The court looks at what each party actually needs to cover reasonable living costs, whether the paying spouse has sufficient surplus income after meeting their own outgoings and how long the recipient will need support before they can become self-sufficient.
Awards can be time-limited, giving the lower-earning spouse a defined period to retrain, re-enter the workforce or adjust. Or they can be open-ended where long-term dependency is unavoidable. Joint-lives orders, which continue until one party dies, are increasingly rare. Courts now prefer to set a term and review it.
Spousal maintenance ends automatically if the recipient remarries. It can be varied if either party's circumstances change significantly: job loss, serious illness or a substantial increase in the recipient's income can all justify a review.
Child maintenance is dealt with separately, usually through the Child Maintenance Service, and is not part of the financial settlement itself.
For cases where spousal and child support are combined into a single payment, see our guide to global maintenance in divorce settlements.
Can you get divorced without a financial settlement?
Technically, yes. The divorce and the financial settlement are separate legal processes. You can obtain a Final Order, which legally ends the marriage, without ever making a financial order. Many people do exactly that, particularly in short marriages or where both parties assume there is nothing worth dividing.
It is one of the most significant financial mistakes anyone going through divorce can make.
There is no automatic time limit on financial claims after divorce in England and Wales. Without a court-approved order, a former spouse retains the legal right to apply for a financial order at any point in the future. Assets acquired long after the marriage ended can all be in scope: a property you bought alone, a pension you have built up, an inheritance you have received.
The case of Wyatt v Vince illustrates the risk clearly. When the couple divorced in 1984, both were living in poverty and there was nothing to divide. They went their separate ways without a financial order. By 2012, the husband had become a multimillionaire. His former wife applied for a financial settlement 27 years after the divorce. In 2015, the Supreme Court confirmed her application could proceed.
The only things that bar a future financial claim are:
- Remarriage of the claiming party. If your former spouse remarries, they lose the right to make new financial claims against you. If you remarry without a financial order in place, your right to claim against them is extinguished. Theirs against you is not.
- Death of either party
- A clean break order approved by the court
An informal agreement between you and your former spouse, however sensible it seems at the time, is not enforceable and offers no protection against a future claim.
For more on the time limit question specifically, see our guide to financial settlement after divorce time limits.
Free 30-minute consultation
Our divorce financial settlement solicitors offer a free 30-minute consultation with a senior solicitor, Monday to Friday. No obligation. No cost.
How is a divorce financial settlement reached?
Most couples do not end up in a courtroom. Around 90% of divorce financial settlements are agreed without a contested final hearing. The route you take depends on how much you and your former spouse can communicate, how complex your finances are and how much you disagree.
There are six main options, broadly in order of cost and formality.
Direct negotiation
You and your former spouse agree privately, then instruct solicitors to draft a consent order to record the terms. Works well in short marriages with simple finances and a genuinely amicable separation. Least expensive but requires both parties to be honest, realistic and communicating reasonably.
Solicitor-led negotiation
Each party instructs their own solicitor, who makes proposals and counter-proposals on their behalf. You do not need to communicate directly with your former spouse. The solicitors handle it. This is how most straightforward to moderately complex cases settle. Costs typically range from ÂŁ3,000 to ÂŁ10,000 per party, depending on complexity and how quickly agreement is reached.
Mediation
A neutral, trained mediator helps both parties work towards an agreement together. You do not have your lawyers in the room but you can take advice from your solicitor between sessions. Before making any court application, attendance at a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) is required. Limited exceptions apply, including where domestic abuse is a factor. Mediation typically costs ÂŁ200 to ÂŁ400 per session.
Collaborative law
Both parties and their solicitors meet together in a series of structured four-way meetings. More transparent than solicitor correspondence but more collaborative than adversarial proceedings. Useful where the relationship is reasonably constructive but direct negotiation alone has not worked.
Private Financial Dispute Resolution (private FDR)
A senior barrister or retired judge acts as a private evaluator, giving both parties a clear indication of what a court would likely order. This often prompts settlement without a final hearing. Faster than the public court system. Cases typically resolve in months rather than years. Costs around ÂŁ5,000 to ÂŁ15,000 for the hearing itself, but frequently saves considerably more in prolonged legal fees.
Court
If everything else fails, a judge decides. The most expensive and time-consuming route and the one that gives both parties the least control over the outcome. Reserved for cases where one party refuses to engage, is hiding assets or where the complexity genuinely requires judicial determination.
For couples looking for a cost-controlled route to settlement, see our guide to fixed fee financial settlements in divorce.
What happens if you go to court?
If negotiation and mediation have not produced an agreement, either party can apply to the Financial Remedy Court for a judge to decide. The application fee is ÂŁ313 (correct at the time of writing; a scheduled HMCTS fee increase was due on 13 July 2026, subject to parliamentary approval). You will need to complete and file Form A, the financial order application form.
The court process runs in three stages.
First appointment
A short hearing, typically 12 to 14 weeks after the application is filed. The judge reviews the case, checks that both parties have provided sufficient financial disclosure and sets directions for what further information is needed. Neither party argues their case at this stage. It is largely procedural.
Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) appointment
The most important hearing for most couples. The judge gives a non-binding indication of what they consider a fair outcome. Around 60 to 70% of cases resolve at or shortly after the FDR. Anything said at this hearing is without prejudice. It cannot be referred to at a final hearing if the case does not settle.
Final hearing
If no agreement has been reached, a judge hears both parties' cases in full and makes a binding decision. This is the most expensive stage and the one that removes all control from both parties. Contested financial remedy proceedings that reach a final hearing can cost upwards of ÂŁ25,000 per party in legal fees.
Current court delays
Financial remedy applications rose 11% in Q1 2026 compared with Q1 2025. The average time from application to final order is currently 67 weeks. That is down from 74 weeks in early 2025, but still well over a year. Family court sitting days are also being reduced in 2026 due to a shortage of judges, raising the risk of last-minute hearing cancellations after significant preparation costs have already been incurred.
A faster track for lower-asset cases
Since 7 April 2025, a pilot express financial remedy procedure has been running across 33 family courts in England. It applies where the combined net assets of both parties are unlikely to exceed ÂŁ250,000, excluding pensions. The standard three-hearing process is compressed to two: an FDR hearing between 16 and 20 weeks after Form A is issued, and a final hearing between 26 and 30 weeks. The pilot has been extended and runs to 2 April 2027. If your case falls within the threshold, ask your solicitor whether you are in a participating court.
GOV.UK has full guidance on how to apply for the court to decide.
What is financial disclosure and do you have to do it?
Before any settlement can be reached, through negotiation, mediation or court, both parties must provide full financial disclosure. Everything: income, assets, debts, pensions and outgoings. Not a curated selection. Not just the parts that are convenient to declare.
In court proceedings, this is done through Form E, a detailed financial statement that covers all assets and liabilities, supported by documentary evidence. Bank statements, pension CETVs, mortgage details, payslips, business accounts and details of any personal property worth more than ÂŁ500 must all be attached. Both parties complete and exchange their Form E simultaneously, typically several weeks before the first appointment.
For consent orders, where both parties have already agreed and are simply asking the court to approve the terms, the shorter Form D81 is submitted alongside the draft order. It gives the judge an overview of both parties' financial positions to confirm the agreement is fair.
Deliberately concealing assets in divorce proceedings is a serious contempt of court. If non-disclosure is discovered after a consent order has been sealed, even years later, the court can set the order aside and the settlement can unravel entirely. Judges take a dim view of anyone who manipulates the process, and the financial and reputational consequences can be severe.
For what happens once a consent order has been approved, see our guide to what happens after a consent order is sealed.
How long does a divorce financial settlement take?
The honest answer is: it depends almost entirely on whether you can reach an agreement and how quickly both parties provide financial disclosure. There is a wide range.
| Route | Typical timeframe |
|---|---|
| Direct negotiation + consent order | 3 to 6 months |
| Mediation + consent order | 4 to 8 months |
| Solicitor-led negotiation | 6 to 12 months |
| Court (contested) | 12 to 24+ months |
These are averages. A straightforward consent order with both parties cooperating can be approved in under three months. A contested case involving complex pensions, overseas assets or a spouse who withholds disclosure can drag well beyond two years.
Three things slow cases down more than anything else. One is late or incomplete financial disclosure. If one party keeps missing deadlines or providing inadequate information, everything stops until they comply. Another is unrealistic expectations. Cases that could settle at the FDR stage often do not because one or both parties are anchored to an outcome a judge simply would not order. The third is the court backlog itself, which remains significant despite modest recent improvements.
The consent order route, where both parties reach agreement before going near a courtroom, is by far the fastest and most cost-effective path. See our guide to how long a consent order takes for a more detailed breakdown of that process specifically.
What does a typical divorce financial settlement look like?
No two settlements are identical. But the examples below cover three of the most common situations and give a realistic sense of what the court, or sensible negotiation, tends to produce.
Short marriage, no children, both working
A couple married for four years. No children. Both in full-time employment with similar incomes. They own a flat jointly with ÂŁ260,000 equity and have ÂŁ22,000 in joint savings. Both have modest workplace pensions roughly similar in value.
Likely outcome: assets split equally or close to it. Each party keeps their own pension, or pensions are offset if there is a modest disparity. Spousal maintenance is unlikely. Both are working and financially independent. A clean break consent order records the agreement and severs all future financial claims. The whole process, if cooperative, can be resolved in three to four months.
Long marriage, primary carer, school-age children
A couple married for 15 years. Two children aged 9 and 12. One spouse was the primary earner throughout; the other left their career to raise the children and now works part-time at significantly reduced income. The family home has ÂŁ490,000 equity. The main earner has a pension with a CETV of ÂŁ195,000; the other has ÂŁ22,000. Joint savings are ÂŁ40,000.
Likely outcome: the primary carer remains in the family home to keep the children in stable accommodation, either through a Mesher order or a buyout funded by a larger share of the savings and pension. A pension sharing order addresses the significant imbalance. Time-limited spousal maintenance may be awarded to allow the lower earner to rebuild career capacity. The children's welfare is the court's first priority, and the settlement reflects that clearly.
Pension-heavy settlement, longer marriage
A couple married for 23 years, both in their mid-50s. Children are adults and financially independent. The family home has ÂŁ560,000 equity. Joint savings are ÂŁ65,000. The husband has a long-standing NHS pension with a CETV of ÂŁ185,000; the wife has a private pension with a CETV of ÂŁ90,000.
The CETV figures suggest a modest gap. But an NHS pension promises a guaranteed, inflation-linked income for life. The CETV significantly understates that. A PODE actuary report reveals the husband's pension is worth considerably more in retirement income terms than the headline figure suggests. After specialist valuation, a pension sharing order is structured to reflect the true income value rather than the misleading CETV comparison. The wife receives a pension credit that genuinely equalises their retirement positions, rather than a paper balance that would have left her substantially worse off.
These are simplified examples. Real cases involve more variables, and the right outcome in your situation depends on your specific assets, needs and circumstances. Our divorce settlement calculator is a useful starting point for running your own numbers.
Is the law on divorce financial settlements changing?
The short answer is: yes. The question is when.
The government consultation on reforming financial remedies law is open now. Published on 5 June 2026 and titled "A fairer end to relationships," it closes at 11:59pm on 14 August 2026. You can read and respond to it at gov.uk/government/consultations/a-fairer-end-to-relationships.
The consultation follows the Law Commission's December 2024 scoping report, which concluded that the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 "lacks certainty and accessibility to an extent that could be argued is inconsistent with the rule of law." It proposes a codification-plus model: bringing settled case law on "needs" and "sharing" into statute, making the framework clearer and more predictable without removing judicial discretion entirely.
It also proposes making qualifying nuptial agreements legally binding. Couples would be able to make binding financial arrangements in advance of divorce or dissolution, subject to safeguards: full financial disclosure, independent legal advice from both parties and a prohibition on last-minute agreements shortly before the wedding. The ruling in Standish v Standish already reinforces the value of a prenuptial agreement for anyone with significant pre-marital assets. Under the proposed reform, that agreement could carry the full force of statute rather than relying on the court's discretion to give it weight.
The consultation covers three connected areas: financial remedies on divorce and dissolution, financial provision for cohabitants on separation, and cohabitant intestacy rights.
What does this mean if you are divorcing now? The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 applies in full until any reform receives Royal Assent. Your settlement will be governed by the law as it stands today. The Standish v Standish [2025] ruling is already in effect and changes how pre-marital and non-matrimonial assets are treated. Getting the right advice under the current framework is the most important thing you can do to protect your financial position.
The full Law Commission scoping report is available at lawcom.gov.uk.
Frequently asked questions about divorce financial settlements
Talk to a divorce financial settlement solicitor at Osbourne Pinner
Osbourne Pinner is a multi-office law firm with specialist divorce financial settlement solicitors in London (Piccadilly and Canary Wharf), Harrow and Manchester. Our family law team handles financial settlements at every level of complexity. This ranges from straightforward consent orders to high net worth cases involving significant property, pension portfolios and business interests.
We offer a free 30-minute consultation with a senior solicitor, Monday to Friday, with no obligation. Fixed fee options are available for consent orders and financial settlements, so you know exactly what you are paying from the start. We do not offer Legal Aid.
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