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Arranging maintenance with your husband, wife or civil partner

Most couples who are ending a marriage or civil partnership manage to agree between themselves about money without going to court.

If you both agree to financial support, this is known as a ‘voluntary agreement’. It can be a written or verbal agreement.

If you want to make your agreement legally binding, you’ll need to apply to court for a ‘consent order’. A judge will check that the agreement is fair and reasonable. If it is, the judge will approve it to make it legally binding.

• Maintenance payments if you divorce or end a civil partnership

• Legal agreements if you split up or separate

Splitting personal possessions

You should try to decide between you how to divide personal possessions and the contents of the family home. You can use insurance values you already have for antiques, collectibles or jewellery, as a guide. You could get them valued by an expert (although this can involve a fee).

• Splitting possessions when you end a marriage or civil partnership

Managing mortgages and property you own

If you have a mortgage together, you should speak to your mortgage company to let them know you are going through a divorce or ending a civil partnership. They will be able to advise you on the best way to handle the change.

The different choices available to you include:

• continuing to pay the mortgage together
• transferring all the mortgage to one person
• paying off the mortgage

If you own property together, it's a good idea to know what it is worth before you make any arrangements.

You can get more details about how to handle property when a marriage or civil partnership ends on the Money Advice Service website.

• Property when you end a marriage or civil partnership - Money Advice Service Opens new window

If you rent property

If you rent a property with your partner and one of you plans to move out, contact the landlord to see whether you can change the tenancy agreement.

You should check the wording of your tenancy agreement carefully so that you and your partner can decide the best way to proceed.

• Private renting (home and community section)

• Council and housing association homes (home and community section)

Handling joint accounts

Joint bank or building society accounts should be closed and you need to decide how to split any money in them, or how to pay off any overdraft.

You should talk to your bank or building society as soon as possible. They will be able to sort out any joint bank accounts you have and arrange for money to be transferred to other accounts.

Making arrangements about pensions

Pensions can be very valuable so make sure you know their value when making any financial arrangements or calculations.

You should consider certain things to make sure any arrangements are fair to both of you. These include:

• how long you’ve been married
• what opportunity there will be for you both to build up a pension in the future
• what other assets you have

You can find out more about handling pensions when you divorce or end a civil partnership by following the link below.

• Pension arrangements when you split up

Savings and investments

Investments, such as shares in a company, can change in value. Make sure you have an up-to-date valuation of them so you know how much they are worth.

If you have life insurance policies, assurance policies or health insurance policies, you should check with the provider to see if you would receive any money if they were cashed in now.

Consider getting help from a tax adviser, accountant or independent financial adviser to decide what to do with your savings or investment.

You can find out more about handling savings and investments by following the link below.

• Savings and investments when you end a marriage or civil partnership

Handling debt when you divorce or end a civil partnership

You should consider any debts that you share, such as from credit cards or overdrafts, even if they are only in one person’s name. Knowing how much you each owe will help you decide on any financial settlement.

• Dealing with debts when you split up

Businesses you own together

If you own a business together, you may need to get your business valued by an accountant. There are accountants who specialise in valuing businesses for divorce purposes and they are called ‘forensic accountants’. This can be expensive, especially if you disagree about how much the business is worth and each pay for your own valuation.

You can find more information about how businesses you own may be affected by a divorce on the Money Advice Service website.

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