Divorce Financial Settlement Solicitors
Breakthrough Solicitors provides expert legal advice for individuals navigating the complexities of financial settlements.
Start with a free initial consultation with a family lawyer to understand your options.
Owner of Breakthrough Solicitors
Solicitor & Mediator
Father of Two
Why choose Breakthrough Solicitors for your divorce financial settlement?
Reaching a financial division is a key part of the divorce process. It is about more than dividing current assets; it is about providing the legal framework required to move forward.
In England and Wales, courts do not have a fixed starting formula, but they use the ‘yardstick of equality’ to check if a proposed outcome is fair before adjusting the numbers based on needs. They consider factors like the needs of children, the length of the marriage, and the earning capacity of both parties.
This means the final division often departs from an equal split to help both parties meet their future housing and income needs.
At Breakthrough Solicitors, we understand the pressure financial negotiations bring and provide a practical approach to help you reach a resolution.
What sets us apart:
- Experienced team: With 20+ years of combined experience in family law, our team has the expertise to help you with financial settlement matters.
- Transparent and trusted: Our reputation is built on professionalism. As reflected in our positive Google feedback, we pride ourselves on providing clear, honest advice during an emotionally taxing time.
- Alternative dispute resolution (ADR): We prioritise negotiation and mediation to reach a settlement. This usually results in less stress, costs and gives you more control over the final outcome.
- Inclusive legal support: We provide advice for LGBTQ+ couples navigating the dissolution of a civil partnership or same-sex marriage.
- Flexible locations and remote support: We work with clients across England and Wales—remotely or in person at our offices in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, and London.
- Multilingual advice: Clear, jargon-free legal advice available in English, Hindi, Gujarati, and Cantonese.
- Convenient meeting times: We offer flexible appointments:
- Monday – Friday: 8am – 8pm
- Saturday: 9am – 6pm
- Sunday: 11am – 5pm
Speak to a family law solicitor today!
Book your free initial consultation to speak to an experienced family law solicitor.
Owner of Breakthrough Solicitors
Solicitor & Mediator
Father of Two
How Breakthrough Solicitors support you with your divorce financial settlement
Navigating the financial aspects of a divorce requires a methodical and precise approach. Because the court has wide discretion to achieve a fair outcome, having a clear legal strategy is essential to protect your interests.
We can guide you through the process of formalising your financial rights with clarity.
Our process for divorce financial settlements:
- Initial consultation: We begin with a confidential consultation to understand your specific circumstances. We identify your priorities—whether that is securing a home for yourself and your children, protecting a business interest, or ensuring a fair share of a pension pot.
- Financial disclosure and valuation: We ensure full transparency by helping you gather evidence for your Form E, including bank statements and pension reports. Our team identifies which assets are “matrimonial” and works with experts to value complex investments accurately.
- Negotiation and agreement: Where both parties are willing to engage, we help negotiate a fair arrangement and document it correctly.
- Mediation and ADR: Where direct negotiation has broken down, mediation can provide a less adversarial and more cost-effective route to reaching agreement without court proceedings.
- Drafting consent orders: If an agreement is reached through negotiation, our solicitors draft a bespoke consent order. This document outlines the division of assets and, where appropriate, a clean break.
- Court proceedings (if required): If matters cannot be resolved outside court, we provide clear advice and representation throughout formal proceedings.
- Ongoing support and variations: Finances can change over time. We offer advice if a significant change in circumstances occurs, such as a change in income that may require an application to vary a maintenance order.
Common legal challenges in divorce financial settlements — and how we address them
The law does not provide a one-size-fits-all formula for dividing assets. Without a formal court order, you remain vulnerable to future financial claims.
We help you navigate these complexities and where possible, secure a fair and final “clean break.”
- Protecting non-matrimonial assets: We help you identify and ring-fence assets owned before the marriage or received via inheritance to keep them out of the general “sharing pot” where possible.
- Pensions and the family home: We advise on whether to split pension funds now (Pension Sharing) or trade pension rights for a larger share of the family home (Offsetting).
- Uncovering hidden assets: If you suspect financial non-disclosure, we can work with experts to review accounts and business interests.
- Business and complex valuations: For business owners, we try to find practical solutions to extract fair settlement value without damaging the company’s liquidity or daily operations.
- Spousal maintenance and stability: We help determine if ongoing maintenance or a one-off “lump sum” is appropriate, or explore options like “Mesher Orders” to delay a house sale until children finish school.
- Managing international assets: For property or accounts held abroad, we coordinate with cross-border experts to ensure all global wealth is correctly accounted for under English law.
Your rights and options in a divorce financial settlement — and how we support you
Understanding your legal rights and the options available is essential to securing a settlement that supports your future. We provide the strategic advice needed to protect your interests in the following areas:
- Entitlement and Section 25 factors: Establishing your fair share of property, savings, and joint investments.
- Pension sharing and retirement: Securing your future through pension sharing orders or offsetting.
- Property and the family home: Negotiating transfers of equity, sales, or Mesher Orders.
- Clean Break Orders: Legally severing financial ties to protect your future income and inheritances.
- Spousal and child financial provision: Arranging school fee payments, high-earner ‘top-up’ orders, or formalising agreed child maintenance via a Consent Order
- Consent Orders: Formalising private agreements into legally binding and enforceable court orders.
- Complex asset valuations: Expert handling of business interests, share schemes, and international assets.
Speak to a family law solicitor today!
Book your free initial consultation to speak to an experienced family law solicitor.
Owner of Breakthrough Solicitors
Solicitor & Mediator
Father of Two
How to start your divorce financial settlement with Breakthrough Solicitors
Securing your financial future is a critical step in the divorce process. Our divorce financial settlement solicitors ensure that assets are identified correctly and aim to prevent avoidable disputes in the future.
At Breakthrough Solicitors, we make it straightforward to get the right advice quickly:
- Get in touch: Contact us by phone, email, or online enquiry form.
- Free initial consultation (up to 30 minutes): Speak with an experienced family solicitor, understand your options, and ask questions about financial settlements — with no obligation.
- Fixed-fee one-hour meeting – £295 (incl. VAT): Meet with Akash Soni and a member of his team to discuss financial settlements in detail, understand how the law applies to you, and receive a tailored strategy. (We’ll ask for documents in advance for KYC and AML checks.)
- Formal instruction: If you choose to proceed, we will send you a client care letter and request a deposit (usually £500, depending on complexity).
- Ongoing support: We take action on your behalf, negotiate where possible, and represent you where required — keeping you informed at every step.
Flexible Support That Fits Around You
✓ Remote or Face-to-Face Meetings
We offer meetings remotely via video call, or in person at our offices in Amersham, Beaconsfield, Berkhamsted, Chesham, Chorleywood, Gerrards Cross, Harrow, High Wycombe, Mayfair, Milton Keynes, Rickmansworth or The Chalfonts — whichever suits you best.
✓ Advice In Multiple Languages
Support available in English, Cantonese, Hindi, and Gujarati.
✓ Extended Working Hours
Speak to us 7 days a week, including evenings and weekends.
Speak to a family law solicitor today!
Book your free initial consultation to speak to an experienced family law solicitor.
Owner of Breakthrough Solicitors
Solicitor & Mediator
Father of Two
Frequently Asked Questions About Divorce Financial Settlements
What is a financial settlement?
A financial settlement is a legally binding agreement or court order that outlines how assets, property, income, and debts are divided between a couple following a divorce or civil partnership dissolution. It is a separate legal process from the divorce itself.
While a final order (formerly a decree absolute) ends the marriage, it does not automatically end financial ties. A financial settlement aims to achieve a fair division of the matrimonial pot and, where possible, provides a clean break to protect both parties from future claims.
How do you obtain a financial settlement on divorce?
A financial settlement can be encompassed into a financial order of the court which sets out in a legally binding document how your assets and income will be divided when you divorce.
Assets such as the family home, savings and pensions will be taken into consideration.
Financial information from both you and your spouse will be disclosed and we will negotiate on your behalf to try and reach a fair settlement as to how your financial assets will be shared.
Can I obtain a divorce without reaching a financial settlement?
While it is possible to divorce without putting a financial settlement in place, it is usually advisable to put financial matters on a legal footing to try and ensure that your position is secure.
If you do not have a legal agreement in place, then it will be open to your spouse to make a financial claim several years down the line.
What is the time limit for agreeing a financial settlement?
Financial settlements in a divorce in the UK usually take 6-8 months if there is agreement from both parties – usually in-line with the minimum 26-week timeframe for the divorce process itself.
If the case involves complex assets, contested negotiations, or court intervention, the process can take 12 to 18 months or longer.
What is a wife entitled to in a divorce settlement in the UK?
There is no automatic or fixed percentage based on gender. Instead, the court balances your situation against the Section 25 factors (Matrimonial Causes Act 1973).
The housing and financial needs of any minor children are always the court’s first priority, followed by the future earning capacities, housing needs, and financial contributions of both parties.
What is a financial consent order and do I need one?
A financial consent order is a specific type of financial order used when you and your ex-spouse have already reached an agreement about your assets. While the divorce itself ends your marriage, it does not automatically end your financial relationship.
A consent order is the legal tool used to “seal” your agreement, making it enforceable by law and protecting you from future claims.
You typically need a financial consent order if you want to achieve any of the following:
- A “clean break”: This is the most common reason. Without a consent order containing a clean break clause, your ex-spouse could potentially make a claim against your future assets, income, or even an inheritance many years after the divorce is finalised.
- Pension sharing: Most pension providers will only split a pension fund if they receive a formal court order (a Pension Sharing Order), which is usually included within the consent order.
- Enforceability: If you have an informal agreement and your ex-spouse stops paying maintenance or refuses to sell the family home as agreed, the court cannot intervene unless you have a sealed consent order in place.
- Clarity on property transfers: If you are transferring the family home from joint names into one person’s name, mortgage lenders and the Land Registry often require a court order to formalise the change and ensure the transfer is exempt from certain tax implications.
Can I get divorced without a financial order?
Yes, you can obtain a Final Order without a financial settlement, but it is rarely advisable.
Divorcing ends the marriage, but it does not end your financial ties; without a court-sealed ‘clean break’ order, the door remains open for either party to claim against future assets, inheritances, or business successes years later.
Furthermore, staying married until your settlement is finalised protects your entitlement to widow’s pension benefits or inheritance should your ex-spouse pass away during negotiations.
How legally binding is a consent order?
Unless approved by the Court, a consent order is not legally binding. Once approved by the Court its terms become binding and enforceable by a Court of law.
How long does it take for a court to approve a financial consent order?
The time it takes for a court to approve a financial consent order will depend on the court’s current workload and processing times. However, on average it can take the court 4-6 weeks to consider a financial consent order.
Note that if a judge is not satisfied that the terms of a financial consent order are reasonable and fair, they may refuse to make the order. The judge would usually set out their reasons for rejecting it and could request changes to the consent order or ask for clarification.
How much does it cost to get a financial consent order?
The Court fee for applying for a financial consent order is £60. However, you ought to have the consent order drafted by a solicitor experienced in family law. The solicitor’s fees will likely depend on the complexity of the agreement.
Can you sell house before obtaining a consent order?
It is not advisable to sell your family home until after you have obtained a legally binding financial order from the court. If you do, you could be exposing yourself to certain risks and challenges.
What happens if you ignore a consent order?
Depending on the reason of ignoring a consent order, the court may impose enforcement measures, including financial penalties or, in rare cases, committal proceedings and face financial loss.
If you ignore a consent order or deliberately breach its terms, you should seek legal advice from a family lawyer immediately.
What happens in the free consultation?
A 30-minute, no-obligation call where you discuss your situation and options with an experienced family solicitor.
What is the fixed-fee meeting?
A one-hour advice session costing £295 (including VAT), where we provide tailored legal advice and a clear strategy going forward.