Divorce financial planning is about the money a divorce moves, and getting the numbers right before they are signed into a court order that is hard to undo. It sits alongside your solicitor, not instead of them: the solicitor handles the law, while the adviser values the assets and models how each split will feel in five, ten and twenty years.
What a divorce financial planner actually does
The work begins with a full picture, the family home, savings and investments, any business, and the asset most often undervalued: pensions. A specialist prices each properly, then models the options so you see a settlement’s real consequences, not its headline numbers. That work spans pension sharing and offsetting, the family home and income and maintenance. The wider divorce and money guide shows how the pieces fit.
A financial adviser complements legal advice: it does not replace it
You still need a family solicitor. The adviser makes sure the figures behind the order are sound and that you understand what you are agreeing to. Where pensions are involved, a Resolution-accredited or PODE-qualified specialist often works alongside your solicitor and a pensions actuary.
Why pensions are the asset most often got wrong
In many marriages the pensions are the second-largest asset after the home, sometimes the largest of all, yet they are routinely under-valued, or waved through because they feel abstract. The trap is the transfer value. A cash-equivalent transfer value (CETV) is only what a scheme will pay to move the pension; for a defined-benefit pension it can badly understate the guaranteed, inflation-linked income given up. Two pensions with the same CETV can fund very different retirements, so a specialist actuarial report often earns its cost.
The three ways a pension can be dealt with on divorce.
| Route | How it works | When it tends to fit |
|---|---|---|
| Pension sharing order | A set percentage transfers to the other spouse as a pension in their own name | A clean break, with both holding independent retirement provision |
| Offsetting | One keeps the pension; the other takes more of another asset, usually the home, of matching value | The home matters more to one party, but compare the values properly, not pound for pound |
| Attachment (earmarking) | Part of the pension is paid across only when the member draws it | Rarely used now, it ties you together for decades and can end on the member’s death |
The trade that looks fair but often isn’t
The commonest offsetting deal keeps the house and gives up the claim on the pension. On paper it looks even, but a pound of housing equity and a pound of pension are not the same pound.
£250,000 in the family home
- Usable now, and tax-free as your main residence
- You have to live somewhere, it produces no income
- Costs money to run; value can fall as well as rise
- Leaves you asset-rich but potentially income-poor
£250,000 of pension (CETV)
- Locked until age 55, rising to 57 in 2028
- Built to pay an income for life, about 25% tax-free
- Mostly taxable when drawn, so worth less after tax
- A DB CETV may understate the secure income surrendered
A good settlement also looks ahead to income and maintenance: can each household meet its costs? Where the finances can be cleanly separated, often a pension sharing order plus a clear division of the home and savings, a clean break order ends all future claims, so neither can return years later for more. Where one still needs support, that may have to wait.
Who needs this, and who may not
If the marriage was short, with no pensions of any size and few shared assets, your solicitor and the court forms may be all you need. The planning earns its keep where there is a defined-benefit or large pension, a business, or a home-versus-pension trade to weigh: the points at which a wrong number becomes permanent. Advice on transferring a defined-benefit pension over £30,000 is required by law, and the decision is usually irreversible.
What it costs, and how we vet advisers
Divorce financial planning is usually a fixed fee for defined work, a pension report, a settlement model, a cash-flow forecast, rather than a percentage, though ongoing advice afterwards typically runs at 0.5%–1% a year. Always see the figure in pounds before you commit. Vetted Wealth is free to you: adviser firms pay us, and we introduce, we never advise. Every firm we match you with is FCA-regulated, and for divorce we introduce specialists with the right accreditation to sit alongside your solicitor. Compare local specialists through our Devon and Cornwall hubs, and see how we vet advisers first.
Key takeaways
- A financial adviser complements your solicitor: the solicitor does the law, the adviser checks the numbers.
- Pensions are often the second-largest asset yet the most under-valued; a CETV is not the benefits given up.
- Sharing, offsetting and attachment are the three routes; sharing best supports a clean break.
- Keeping the house in place of the pension can look fair but rarely is: a pound of home is not a pound of pension.
- A clean break ends future claims, but only where the finances can be cleanly separated.
Where we operate
Vetted Wealth is live across Devon and Cornwall, with further counties opening through 2026. Choose your county to see the towns we cover and the advisers we have vetted there.
Most people start on their county page and then pick their town. If you would rather skip that, use the form on this page, tell us where you are and we will match you with a vetted divorce financial planning specialist near you.
Popular towns
Learn more before you speak to anyone
Our Knowledge library is free, has nothing to sell you, and is written to be the clearest explanation of each topic on the UK web.
Speak to a vetted divorce financial planning specialist
This page is information, not personal advice. When you are ready, we will introduce you to an independently vetted, FCA-regulated adviser, free, and with no obligation. Investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest.