How an adviser can support you during divorce proceedings and help you rebuild your finances.
Nick Colman, Financial Planning Writer
Last Updated: 11 January 2023
Although most people get an expert like a lawyer or solicitor to help at divorce, not everyone thinks about involving a financial adviser as well.
We explore how a financial adviser can support you during the divorce proceedings and help you rebuild your finances.
This article isn’t personal advice. If you’re not sure whether something is right for you, you should ask for financial advice.
During divorce proceedings, people often focus on the family home and don’t think about their next biggest asset, which is often their combined pension savings.
It’s understandable. You’re probably going to have a strong emotional attachment to your property compared to your pension. But without retirement savings to fall back on, you might find yourself struggling to make ends meet in later life.
Having a large family home might not be much comfort at retirement if you can’t afford to keep the lights on.
An adviser can help you focus on pensions and understand what they’re worth, so you get your fair share. You might be entitled to a portion of your partner’s pension if you haven’t had the opportunity to save yourself.
But it goes both ways. If you’re the main breadwinner, or have been paying into a pension while your partner has taken a career break, they might be entitled to a portion of yours.
Your finances, income and goals are likely to be very different after divorce, so you’ll need to re-assess and come up with a plan for the future.
And although lawyers can help you divide your assets, they can’t necessarily advise you on what to do next. You could do the financial planning yourself if you feel confident enough, or you could get an adviser to shoulder some of the burden.
An adviser will be able to take account of all money matters, from your income and budget to your emergency cash and pension. By coming up with a feasible plan based on your needs and goals, the adviser can give you a better chance of rebuilding your financial future and coming back stronger.
You don’t need to wait until your divorce is settled to speak to a financial adviser. In fact, it’s often useful for them to be involved in the conversation early on.
If you’re thinking about taking financial advice, the first step is to book a call-back from our advisory helpdesk. They won’t give you advice on the call, but they can talk you through how advice works and what charges are involved. That way, you can get a better idea of whether it’s right for you. Then if you want to take advice, they can put you in touch with an adviser.
There’s no obligation to take advice, and there’s no hard sell. In fact, they’ll let you know about our free information and tools if advice is not for you.
Please note: We can provide advice to only UK residents. If you’re resident overseas, unfortunately we’re unable to advise you.
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