By Sarah Siddons, Principal of Siddons & Co Financial Planning
Getting divorced isn’t easy. Emotions are usually running high and there is likely to be a lot of stress & anxiety about what happens next and what life will be like in the future.
You most likely talk to friends for emotional support, and you contact a lawyer for legal advice. But who do you turn to for financial support?
From my experience, if you’re not careful the legal wheels start turning and you are asked to make decisions by your legal team to try and agree a financial settlement offer. But how do you know whether this deal will work for you and your family long term? And how do you know what the right questions are to ask?
It seems like a huge & often overwhelming decision, and you worry about getting it wrong. But at the same time, you just want it done and dusted so you can get on with the rest of your life.
Only once the ink is dry on the settlement do you think about getting financial advice. By which time, it’s too late to change it. A financial settlement is usually irreversible.
Choose a better way
There is a better way of approaching things to make sure you get the best possible financial outcome from your divorce.
What you need, from the very beginning of the process, and arguably before you even speak to a lawyer, is a financial planner in your corner as part of your support network.
Someone empathetic and knowledgeable who you trust and who will speak in plain language to help you understand how much money you and your family will actually need to live off in future, and how much capital you will need to maintain your lifestyle.
Who will help you work out what questions you should be asking and how to get the answers to these questions;
Can you afford to keep the house?
How much capital will you need to meet your ongoing needs?
Can you still pay school fees?
Are you entitled to a share of your spouse’s pension?
How much money will you need in retirement?
Once you’re clear on all these points, you’ll be able to arrange your appointment with your lawyer and approach the meeting confidently armed with the right knowledge about your financial needs.
Putting you in control
This approach and this sequence of events puts you firmly in control and ensures you can make the best possible decisions about your finances from an informed position, helping you achieve a better outcome in your divorce settlement.
Your meetings with your lawyer will as a result be more effective, and you’ll be able to maintain clarity about what your financial future looks like.
This will help give you financial confidence for you and your family and ultimately peace of mind.
My approach is one of genuine care and expert knowledge as a Chartered Financial Planner. But on top of that, I have also been through the divorce process myself, so can put myself firmly in your shoes.
I offer a compassionate, jargon-free and accessible service. It’s never going to be an easy, but you can take away the fear, uncertainty and worry by getting expert financial support from the very beginning.
Choose Siddons & Co Financial Planning as part of your support network.
Siddons & Co Financial Planning is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website: www.sjp.co.uk/products
SJP Approved 06/08/2024
