Providing accuracy and clarity for your financial settlement. Allowing you to make informed decisions about assets. Creating a financial plan for your new future.
Agreeing the right financial settlement is a crucial element of the divorce process.
Without the involvement of a financial professional, a financial settlement may be agreed based on inaccurate or incomplete information. For example, where a ‘with profits’ endowment is involved, the standard valuation presented to a Court is the surrender value. Optimal Planning can determine the market value of that endowment which may typically be hundreds or thousands of pounds greater.
Similarly, without the involvement of a Financial Planner, the implications of altering financial arrangements may not be fully considered or appreciated. For example, a pension split on the basis of a given percentage of the ‘Cash Equivalent Transfer Value’ (CETV) may not produce benefits in the proportions intended. Optimal Planning can advise on the advantages and disadvantages of altering each pension arrangement.
A client may benefit from our services whether they are involved in a court-based divorce or a collaborative divorce process. In the latter we act for both parties in line with the collaborative approach. Please refer to our links page for further information regarding this progressive way of settling your divorce.
Following a divorce, each party should re-assess their financial situation and create a revised financial strategy, filling in any gaps and moving forwards. This can be a highly positive exercise as a client considers their aspirations for the future and we embark upon the Optimal Planning Cycle.