What is a fair settlement on divorce?

Your 90 second guide to division of assets on divorce.

When couples divorce, sorting out the finances is one of the biggest issues they will need to settle.

All the marital assets go into one pot, regardless of whose name things like savings, property or even business assets are held in.

The “pot” might include:

• Your house and any other property either of you own
• Savings & investments whether held by both or one of you
• Pension funds
• The value of your business and any related assets
• Possessions – especially valuable one’s like cars, antiques and the like

Any debts you have as a couple or as individuals will also have to be considered

There are a number of ways that this ‘pot’ can be divided up. An experienced family law specialist will be able to advise on what might work best for you.

The starting point is usually a 50/50 split of the total.

But there are a number of considerations, which might affect who gets what, including:

• If you have children and with whom they are going to live
• The length of your marriage
• What assets each party brought to the marriage
• The age of you and your spouse, and your ability to generate future income
• And the reasonable financial needs you each have set against your ability to generate income in the future.

It is always best for a couple to reach an agreement between themselves. Otherwise , they may have to go to a court for a ruling.

The most important thing, once agreement has been reached, is to get a family law solicitor to draw up the necessary documentation, including a clean break order, to ensure neither party has future claims on the others’ assets.