Divorce & Finance Dispute Solicitors in London

Our divorce and finance solicitors are here to help you secure a divorce financial settlement for your family. Getting divorced can be a lonely business. Negotiating a divorce and finances can be stressful and difficult when you are not sure about what you are entitled to. That’s why you need a specialist divorce solicitor in your corner to help you negotiate a fair deal or take on your spouse in financial dispute proceedings.

Get in touch with us today to see how our divorce financial settlement solicitors can help you.

To discuss your divorce and finances talk to us at our offices, over the phone or online via Web Conferencing such as Zoom or Skype. To get the expert legal advice you need, contact our divorce financial settlement solicitors in London.

Why choose OTS Solicitors for your financial settlement?

OTS Solicitors think that those sorting out finances in divorce need and deserve a divorce finance settlement solicitor who:

Will listen to what you want; if you do not want to go to court or to get a formal valuation of a property or don’t want to pursue financial disclosure, we will listen to you
Understands the need to carefully review a spouse’s financial disclosure paperwork to look for hidden assets, bank accounts or foreign property
Will advise you on the complexities and interplay between child support and spousal maintenance and what a ‘clean break’ means as well as ‘reality test’ any financial settlement ideas
Will take the time to explain your financial settlement options including court orders such as pension sharing orders, lifetime spousal maintenance, capitalisation of spousal maintenance payments and global spousal maintenance orders
Will not tell you what you must do but instead will explain your financial settlement options. It is rare for there to only be one way to divide property, pensions and other assets when you get divorced. We will explain the pros and cons of your various options and help you make the right decision for you and your family
Clearly explain the legal costs involved in negotiating a financial settlement or applying to court for a financial court order
Will make sure that you get all the help you need. For example, help in finding the right forensic accountant, pension actuary, barrister or surveyor or in getting finance advice from an IFA

Financial settlement advice services

At OTS Solicitors our dedicated team of London divorce solicitors knows that unravelling your financial affairs when you divorce can seem overwhelming. It can be intimidating to think that a judge will decide:

Whether the family home should be sold, and if so, how the proceeds of sale should be split
Whether spousal maintenance should be paid and for how long
Whether the family business should be sold or shares in the company be transferred to one spouse
Whether pensions should be shared and, if so, whether a 50% division of the cash equivalent transfer value of the pensions will result in equality of pension income on retirement for the husband and wife
The relevance of any family gifts or inheritances received by one spouse during the marriage
The extent to which the financial settlement should be based on the contents of any prenuptial agreement or postnuptial agreement
The enforceability of any financial court order. For example, if a spouse lives overseas or holds assets or property abroad

That is why you need divorce and finance solicitors on your side to guide you through your options and ensure that you receive a fair financial settlement.

Frequently Asked Questions on Financial Settlements

What am I entitled to in a divorce settlement?

The starting point for a UK divorce settlement is normally a 50/50 split of the family assets but there may be good reasons why a spouse should get most of the family assets or less than half.

When deciding divorce financial settlements, the court considers a range of statutory factors:

The needs of any dependent children
The age of the husband and wife
The length of the marriage
The husband and wife's current and future earning capacity and whether it would be reasonable to expect that they could earn more
Contributions made during the marriage. Financial contributions are given the same weight as the contributions of a homemaker
The standard of living enjoyed during the marriage
The property and assets available to split. This will include the equity in the family home, savings, the value of the family business or pensions

It is difficult to talk of entitlements when the financial agreement for divorce will depend on a range of factors and your individual and family circumstances.

Our divorce and finance solicitors will consider likely financial settlements with you to help you reach a negotiated settlement through solicitor negotiations or family mediation or strongly argue your case in financial settlement court proceedings or arbitration.

What is the usual financial split in a divorce?

There is no usual financial split in a divorce as the finances or personal circumstances of couples are never the same. Our financial solicitors focus on you and your needs rather than trying to impose a ‘usual financial split’ to your circumstances. That approach means we focus on listening to you and your goals and needs and by asking:

What are the family assets and the non-family assets? Have all the assets been disclosed? Have assets been properly valued, such as shares in a family business
What are your reasonable needs? What does your spouse need?
What do you want? Is that reasonable when assessing what you want against what you need? Are you likely to achieve what you want through solicitor negotiations or in financial court proceedings?
Do your wants or your spouse’s proposals withstand reality testing? For example, if your spouse is saying you can have half their pension and half the equity in the house that may mean you get less pension income than them in retirement because of your age and gender or you cannot rehouse yourself because of your mortgage capacity

Our care and attention to detail help ensure that your financial settlement is fair and meets your needs rather than adopting a standard one size fits all approach to your financial future.

How to manage finances when getting divorced?

Managing your finances when you get divorced can be stressful as you are splitting your income and assets in two and need to fund two houses and outgoings from assets and income that used to provide one home. Our divorce finance solicitors will guide and support you with sorting out interim financial arrangements and securing a financial court order that meets your long term financial needs.

How long does a financial settlement take?

It usually takes months to negotiate a financial settlement because it is vital to get assets valued during negotiations and get finance advice and take time to weigh up your options and work out what is best for you and your family. Once you have reached a financial agreement, we can ensure it is converted into a binding financial court order to give you peace of mind.

In a complex divorce settlement, it can take longer for the court to make a financial court order. Our divorce financial settlement solicitors have substantial experience in financial settlement court applications where one spouse will not cooperate or there are legal arguments over the relevance of assets, such as trust funds, or disputes over how a family business should be valued in the financial proceedings. We take a calm and assured approach to get you the financial settlement you need.

Get in touch with us today to see how our divorce finance dispute solicitors can help you.

Your Questions and our answers about Financial Dispute on Divorce

Thank you for your enquiry.

If your separation is amicable, you and your husband should talk about what you want to do with the joint savings account. If the separation is amicable and you take all the savings or half the money out of the joint savings account without first discussing your plans with your husband then this may make it harder to reach an agreed financial settlement.

As your savings account is a joint account, either you or your husband could take the savings from the bank account. In addition, if the account has an overdraft facility potentially either of you could take money out on overdraft. This means that if your separation is not amicable your husband could withdraw all the money. If money is taken out on overdraft then because the account is a joint one you and your husband are both jointly and severally liable for the whole of the overdraft.

Accordingly, if there are trust issues between you and your husband and you are worried that the account has an overdraft facility on it you could ask the bank to freeze the account. That means neither one of you could take any money out of the account nor use the overdraft facility until the account is unfrozen.

Whether you should take out money from the joint savings account depends on your detailed personal and financial circumstances. You should therefore take legal advice on your separation, including whether you are both going to continue living at the family home during the divorce proceedings and your financial settlement options. This discussion will help determine what steps you should take about the joint savings account, although if you fear that your husband will quickly withdraw the money without his discussing it first with you then you could chose to freeze the account to preserve the funds and then take legal advice.

You do need family law advice on starting divorce proceedings and your financial settlement options. We would therefore ask you to call us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to discuss how we can help you. Please call us.

Thank you for your enquiry.

You may need to start financial court proceedings so that there is a court timetable in place to help you reach a financial settlement, and if you cannot reach an agreement, a judge can make a financial court order.

If you have what is known as a beneficial interest in the buy to let property you could warn any potential purchasers of your potential beneficial interest in the property by registering your interest with the land registry. If you do not have a legal or beneficial interest in the property, you still have a financial claim because of your marriage to your husband.

If you think that your husband is going to sell or dispose of the buy to let property in order to defeat your financial claim then you could apply for what is called a section 37 injunction order. This application may not be necessary if there is other secured money that will satisfy your financial claims, such as the equity in the family home or savings.

Another option would be to agree that your husband should sell the buy to let property and for your husband to agree that the proceeds of sale of the property should be retained by his solicitor until you have reached an agreement with your husband or a judge makes a financial court order.

You do need family law advice on starting financial court proceedings and applying for a section 37-injunction order. We would therefore ask you to call us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to discuss how we can help you. Please call us.

Family law team OTS Solicitors

Thank you for getting in touch with us.

Your enquiry is being reviewed by our team and one of our solicitors will contact you shortly.

In the meantime, you can also call us or contact us here

Thank you for getting in touch.

We would recommend that you obtain legal advice in respect of your rights as to the property. This is because we would need to have full details as to your circumstances in order to advise you whether there is a way for you to claim a share of the property.

Top book an appointment, please call us on 0203 959 9123 or contact us here.

Thank you for getting in touch with us.

Your enquiry is being reviewed by our team and one of our solicitors will contact you shortly.

In the meantime, you can also call us on 0203 959 9123 or contact us here.

Thank you for your enquiry.

Finances and children matters can be complicated and there may be no right or equal division of assets or share re contact time. Everything will assessed before a decision can be made by the courts i.e. parties’ financial disclosures, assets, needs and contribution to the marriage. More importantly the children’s needs will have to be met foremost.

Please get in touch on

0203 959 9123 or contact us here.

Thank you for your enquiry.

You and your husband will need to give what is called “full and frank” financial disclosure of your assets when you either negotiate a financial settlement or if one of you starts financial court proceedings.

Once you have your husband’s financial disclosure, your divorce solicitors will be able to review it and check if there are any discrepancies or evidence that assets have been hidden from you, for example shares, investments or additional bank accounts.

As you own a family business with your husband you could ask a forensic accountant, within the financial court proceedings, to look at the business value and look for any discrepancies, for example movements on a directors loan account.

If you are concerned that your husband might sell or dispose of assets then you could apply to court for an injunction order to stop him from doing so.

You do need family law advice on the financial disclosure and your financial settlement options. We would therefore ask you to call us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to discuss how we can help you. Please call us.

family law team OTS Solicitors

When a husband and wife get divorced, they can make financial claims against one another, including claims against a business. The fact that the majority of the shares are held in your husband’s name does not matter if the business is a family asset. A family court can take the value of all the shares in the business into account when making a financial court order or making orders in relation to the shares.

You should not transfer your shares to your husband without first getting legal advice from a divorce solicitor. Even if you signed a shareholder agreement, the divorce court has wide-ranging powers in relation to business shares. The court could order a valuation of the shares, and ultimately could order the sale or transfer of your shares or those of your husband.

A number of factors will determine if a court will order the transfer of your shares to your husband and we would need to see you to discuss your individual personal and financial circumstances to give you an idea of the likely financial settlement that might be negotiated or ordered by the court if you cannot reach an agreement.

You may need urgent legal and accountancy advice depending on the date of your separation from your husband.

Divorces involving family businesses and shareholdings can be complicated as it is important that the business and shares are properly valued.

You do need family law advice on the shares and your financial settlement options. We would therefore ask you to call us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to discuss how we can help you. Please call us.

family law team OTS Solicitors

Thank you for your enquiry.

We would need to see the financial court order and look at the spousal maintenance clauses to advise you.

In some spousal maintenance court orders, the court order will state that the spousal maintenance will stop early if the person receiving the spousal maintenance cohabits with another person. If your order does not say that and your ex-husband has stopped the spousal maintenance payments, you could apply to court to enforce the spousal maintenance order.

Even if the spousal maintenance court order does not say that the spousal maintenance will stop early if the person receiving the spousal maintenance cohabits, your ex-husband could apply back to court to stop the spousal maintenance payments or reduce the amount he pays each month.

We would need to discuss with you whether your boyfriend would be classed as cohabiting with you. A boyfriend can stay a few nights a week and the court can say it is cohabitation. The definition of cohabitation is a bit complex. However, even if your boyfriend was living with you full time this may not necessarily affect the spousal maintenance payments. It all depends on your personal and financial circumstances.

You do need family law advice on the spousal maintenance payments. We would therefore ask you to call us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to discuss how we can help you. When coming in to see us please bring the financial court order with you so we can advise you. Please call us.

Jordana Adams, Family Solicitor

Thank you for your enquiry.

If you are paying your former wife spousal maintenance, then the spousal maintenance payments should stop when she remarries.

You mention that you are paying child support but do not say if that is on a voluntary basis, after a child maintenance service assessment or under a family court order. You should not change the child support payments without first taking legal advice.

The amount you pay in child support should not be effected by your former wife’s remarriage and her husband’s financial circumstances. However, a family solicitor can advise you on whether you are paying the correct amount of child support based on your current income and other factors. If the child support is being paid under a child maintenance service assessment or court order, a variation application could be made.

You do need family law advice on your child support payments. We would therefore ask you to call us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to discuss how we can help you. Please call us.

family law team OTS Solicitors

As your wife is an employee of the company, she will have employment law claims as well as being able to start a financial application in the divorce court.

You should not take any action in relation to her Employment without first speaking to an employment law solicitor. If you were to performance manage your wife out of her job or sack her or give her grounds for a constructive dismissal claim your wife could bring both employment law tribunal proceedings as well as a spousal maintenance claim as a result of her loss of income.

When a spouse is employed in a family business, it is usual to negotiate a financial settlement that includes a promise that the family financial court order settles both family law financial claims as well as any employment law claims. Normally, as part of the overall family financial settlement, your wife would resign from her job but without being able to bring any future separate employment law claims against the company.

It is very important that you do not do anything prematurely to enable your wife to bring an employment law claim and a claim for interim spousal maintenance.

You do need family law advice on reaching a financial settlement with your wife. We would therefore ask you to call us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to discuss how we can help you. Please call us.

family law team OTS Solicitors

When a husband and wife get divorced, they can make financial claims against one another, including claims against pensions. Whether your wife would be successful in bringing a claim against your pension depends on your individual and personal circumstances.

A number of factors will determine if a court would award your wife a share of your pension , such as your ages , the length of time that you have lived together as man and wife , whether you have children together , the extent of your other assets and property , and both of your needs .

The court has the power to make a pension sharing order so that your pension is shared with your wife. However, the pension share does not have to be 50%. It all depends on the range of factors. Another option is for the court to offset the value of your pension by giving your wife a greater share of the non-pension assets and leaving you with your pension intact.

Divorces involving pensions can be complicated as it is vital that the pension is properly valued and proper consideration is given if the pension was accrued prior to your marriage.

You do need family law advice on financial settlement and pension sharing and offsetting. We would therefore ask you to call us on 0203 959 9123 to arrange an appointment to discuss how we can help you. Please call us.

Jordana Adams, Family Solicitor