Dealing with finances is often the most complicated and stressful part of a divorce. It can be difficult to understand how to disentangle and reorder family finances to provide for two households.

Our expert divorce financial settlement team are here to help. We pride ourselves on listening to you and understanding your priorities when it comes to financial settlement. We have a wealth of experience in dealing with a range of financial matters and guiding clients through the entire legal process.

We'll work with you to help you understand your legal position and the options available to you, whether you're dealing with businesses or pensions in divorce – or you're simply thinking about divorce.

To find out how we can help you, please get in touch with our friendly team today.

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It is important to understand what assets there are in the matrimonial pot and how the court may treat them. The court draws a distinction between matrimonial assets and non-matrimonial assets.

Matrimonial assets are those that you and your partner have acquired throughout your marriage or civil partnership. These include:

• Your family home
• Other property
• Businesses
• Loans
• Pensions
• Savings and investments
• Vehicles
• Furniture and appliances

Non-matrimonial assets are acquired outside of your marriage or civil partnership. Generally, this means:

• Assets acquired by just one of you before the marriage or after separation;
• Assets gifted to just one of you;
• Assets inherited by just one of you.

For example, you may have bought a property long before you even met your ex or received an inheritance from a relative.  Depending on your circumstances, non-matrimonial assets can sometimes be excluded from the financial settlement.

Dealing with non-matrimonial assets in divorce can be complicated.

Sometimes non-matrimonial assets can become entangled or mingled with other matrimonial assets and turn into matrimonial assets. For instance, you may have used your own inheritance so you could both invest in a second home.

Even if the matrimonial assets and non-matrimonial assets have been kept separate, you might find the matrimonial assets are not enough to provide for both of you. If so, non-matrimonial assets will need to be included in the financial settlement too.

Our role as divorce financial settlement lawyers is to guide you through the potential assets in your case and their legal positions. We'll also outline the options available to you when trying to settle and can introduce you to other professionals who may be able to assist. Contact us today to see how we can help you.

The legal process is dependent on whether you and ex can agree on your finances and assets.

It's important to fully understand the other's financial position before making a settlement, and to ensure that no information is missing. This is a process called financial disclosure. During the divorce process, there is an ongoing duty on both you and your ex to provide full, frank and clear disclosure to each other.

When someone is unwilling to provide information about their position, a specialist financial divorce lawyer can explain your options. Once there has been financial disclosure, negotiations to settle can begin.

It may be necessary to instruct experts to help you reach an agreement. For example, it can sometimes be helpful to seek advice to value a property or business, or for views on the treatment of pensions. If an agreement is reached, a specialist financial divorce solicitor is required to make the agreement legally binding. If this isn't done, it's still open to either of you to make a financial application in the future. This could be many years after the divorce.

We strive to resolve family matters as amicably and constructively as possible, particularly when there are children involved. This doesn't stop us from acting robustly to protect your best interests, however. If it's necessary to enter court proceedings, we'll advise you of this and champion your position.

Our finance divorce lawyers are particularly skilled in dealing with high-value and complex cases. We pride ourselves on making them understandable for our clients.

You can rely on our expert team of divorce financial settlement lawyers to support you throughout the process. We have experience in dealing with matters that involve:

• Jurisdictional issues and foreign assets
• Multi-million-pound businesses
• Complicated pension arrangements including dealing with benefit schemes and foreign pensions
• Trust assets
• Lack of disclosure
• Disposal of assets prior to and during proceedings
• Criminal investigations

We understand that financial settlements aren't always straightforward, however, you can rest assured you'll be in safe hands when you choose Mills & Reeve.

Vlogs from our divorce law solicitors

Our team of expert solicitors are on-hand to help you deal with divorce and financial settlement laws in England and Wales. Our knowledge and expertise mean we're well-equipped to offer you support and guidance during this difficult time.

It doesn't stop there. Here are a few more reasons you should choose us:

• We operate in line with our core values, ensuring we always provide exceptional customer service to our clients
• Our 2022 Fearless Feedback survey showed an excellent client satisfaction rate of 91%
• We've been featured in prestigious industry lists, including The Financial Times' Innovative Lawyers: Europe and Thomson Reuters' Top 20 UK Law Firm Brand Index 2022.
• Our work has been recognised by official and independent bodies, including Legal 500, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Law Society and Chambers and Partners.
• Our offices are conveniently situated in seven major cities throughout the UK, including London, Cambridge, Birmingham and Leeds.
• We have a Charitable Trust that is dedicated to supporting various causes, including ending domestic abuse and supporting vulnerable families.
• We're committed to achieving net zero by 2050 and have already reduced our carbon footprint by 30%.

Our team are here to help you so contact us when you're ready. You can also sign up for the latest updates family lawyers about upcoming events, new blog posts and more.