What is a wife entitled to in a divorce settlement in the UK?

When going through a divorce, it is essential to deal with financial matters, no matter how difficult this may be. This includes dividing assets and liabilities and deciding what will happen to the matrimonial home. We look at how a financial order is made and answer the question, What is a wife entitled to in a divorce settlement?

Without a binding financial order on divorce, your former spouse could make a claim against you at any point in the future. This is because financial commitments to each other do not end in divorce and can only be dealt with by a separate financial order.

The court will consider many factors in deciding a wife’s entitlement to divorce and whether to order maintenance payments. We explore these below and explain how the court will arrive at its decision.

If you want to discuss divorce entitlements in the UK with an expert family lawyer, contact our divorce solicitors at Sharp Family Law.

What am I entitled to if I divorce my husband?

When making a financial order, the starting point for the courts is a 50:50 split. Neither husbands nor wives are favoured, but other factors are taken into account, and one party may receive more of the available assets than the other.

The courts always prioritise the needs of any children involved. This means that the person with the main day-to-day care of the children is more likely to be able to stay in the family home to provide continuity for the children.

Providing one party with the matrimonial home can be dealt with in a variety of ways, including:

• Awarding the other party a larger share of other assets, such as savings or pension provision
• Remortgaging the property to provide a lump sum for the person leaving the home
• An order for a deferred sale so that the property can be sold and the proceeds split in the future when the children reach 18

Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 provides a list of criteria that the courts should consider when making a financial order on divorce. These will be used to decide what each party will take away from the divorce.

Does the length of my marriage affect the settlement?

One of the factors that the court will take into account when deciding on financial entitlement in divorce is how long a marriage has lasted. However, this will be looked at together with other criteria.

If the marriage is only short, then a party who entered the marriage with more assets or who inherited money might keep this when divorcing.

With a long marriage, assets are more likely to be considered matrimonial assets and to be put into the matrimonial pot for sharing on divorce.

What are the Section 25 criteria?

The criteria that the court will consider when making a financial order for divorce are set out in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act and are as follows:

• The income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources each party has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future and any increase in earning capacity that the court feels it would be reasonable to expect either party to take steps to acquire;
• The financial needs, obligations and responsibilities which each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future;
• The standard of living enjoyed by the family during the marriage;
• Each of the party’s ages and the length of the marriage;
• Any physical or mental disabilities either party has;
• The contributions made by each party or likely to be made in the foreseeable future to the welfare of the family, including caring for the home or children;
• The conduct of the parties, if in the court’s opinion, it would be inequitable to disregard this;
• The value of any benefit which either of the parties will lose because of the divorce

What assets are taken into account in a divorce settlement?

The courts aim to make a fair division of the assets. Most assets are considered matrimonial assets, particularly if they were acquired during the marriage.

If it is possible to meet both parties’ needs without using non-matrimonial assets, the courts will often do this. However, if non-matrimonial assets are required to meet one party’s needs adequately, nothing is off-limits, and the court can award these to either party.

Examples of non-matrimonial assets include:

• Property acquired by one party before the marriage
• An interest in a family business
• Inherited money that has been kept separately from joint finances
• Valuable items or savings owned by one party
• Gifts made to one party

What pension rights does a wife have on divorce?

The parties’ pensions are generally included when considering divorce entitlement. If the court decides that one party should be awarded a share of the other’s pension, it has three main options.

• Pension off-setting, where one party receives a larger share of other assets so that the person who holds the pension can retain this
• Pension sharing, where part of the pension is split from the main pension and held separately. This allows the recipient to manage the pension in the way they want, drawing on it when they are ready
• Pension earmarking or pension attachment, where the person who does not own the pension is paid a share when the other party decides to retire. This is less frequently used as it means the receiving party has no control over when payments begin. They could also lose out if the pension holder were to die before reaching retirement age

Is a wife entitled to maintenance on divorce?

The court will decide whether maintenance is necessary based on the Section 25 criteria. Generally speaking, the courts prefer that the parties work towards independence.

Where one party is in a weaker financial position, for example, if they have given up work to care for children, the court may award them maintenance. This could be for life or, more commonly, for a period of time to allow them to retrain or find a job.

How is a financial order decided?

The courts prefer that a couple works to find an acceptable solution between themselves, without the need for litigation wherever possible.

This can be attempted through negotiation between the parties’ solicitors or by an alternative form of dispute resolution such as mediation, collaborative law, or arbitration. Alternative dispute resolution can be extremely helpful if a couple cannot decide on matters between themselves. It tends to be considerably faster than litigation and can help reduce conflict.

You will receive the advice you need to make informed decisions, such as your divorce entitlement if you did need to go to court. This will help you decide on your position in negotiations and what assets are most important to you.

If an agreement over divorce entitlement can be reached, the court can be asked to approve it and make a binding financial order in the terms agreed.

Where an agreement cannot be reached, your case will go to court and a judge will make a financial order.

Get in touch with our divorce solicitors

If you are ending your relationship and you need a divorce settlement in the UK, speak to one of our expert divorce solicitors.

You can contact us in Bath, Bristol, or Bradford on Avon, or fill in our online enquiry form and one of our expert team will be in touch.