How are pensions divided?

Usually by a pension sharing order, which transfers a percentage of one pension into the other person's name so that each of you ends up with your own. The percentage is not automatically fifty. What makes this complicated in practice is valuation: the transfer value printed on an annual statement is often a poor reflection of a defined benefit pension's real worth, sometimes by a very large margin. Where the pensions are substantial, an actuarial report is money well spent rather than an extravagance.

We have already agreed everything between us. Do we still need solicitors?

You still need a court order, and that is the important part. An agreement between two people, however amicable and however carefully written down, is not binding and does not prevent either of you making a financial claim years afterwards. A consent order turns what you have agreed into something enforceable and final. Couples who arrive having already agreed the substance are usually our least expensive clients, so agreeing first is worth doing.

My spouse says the house was theirs before we married, so I have no claim. Is that right?

Not necessarily, and it is one of the most commonly asserted half-truths in family law. Property owned before a marriage can be argued to be non-matrimonial, but that argument weakens considerably where the house became the family home, where both of you contributed to the mortgage or to improving it, and where the marriage was a long one. It also gives way entirely where the other assets cannot meet both parties' needs. Do not accept the assertion. Get it looked at.

Can I stop my spouse moving money or selling something before we settle?

Often, yes. Where there is a real risk that assets will be sold, transferred or moved out of reach, the court can make orders to prevent it, and can do so quickly. You can also register a notice against a jointly occupied property so it cannot be sold without your knowledge. If you are genuinely worried this is about to happen, raise it at the first opportunity rather than waiting to see, because these applications are far easier to make before the money has gone than after.

Should I finalise the divorce before sorting out the money?

Usually not, and this catches people out. Once the final order is made the marriage has ended, and that can affect entitlements including some pension death benefits and, in some circumstances, claims that depend on being a spouse. The safer order of events is to resolve the finances, obtain a consent order or a court order, and then apply for the final order. We will tell you if your situation is one of the exceptions.

Family law solicitors Sutton Coldfield

The money is usually the part that frightens people most

People arrive worried about the divorce and leave realising the divorce was the simple part. Ending a marriage is now a largely administrative process done online. Working out what happens to a house, two pensions, a business, an inheritance and thirty years of joint decisions is not.

In Sutton Coldfield that second question tends to be a bigger one than it is elsewhere in the region. More of our clients here have assets that need genuine valuation rather than a quick look: company shareholdings, rental property, share schemes, defined benefit pensions, money that came from parents and was never quite disentangled.

We advise on financial settlements, divorce and separation, arrangements for children, disputes between unmarried couples, and prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, for clients across Sutton Coldfield, Mere Green, Four Oaks, Little Aston, Streetly, Boldmere, Wylde Green, Walmley and the north Birmingham suburbs.

If you are not sure whether something counts, ask. That is the question, not a preliminary to it.

Make an enquiry

Where we are most often instructed

We'll help you work through the key decisions, protect your position, and keep things moving.

< class="heading text- text-"> Financial settlements and property division

The largest part of our Sutton Coldfield work. Identifying everything that is in the pot, valuing it honestly, and dividing it in a way a court would recognise as fair. That includes pensions, which are routinely undervalued by people trying to be reasonable, and business interests, where the question is often less about the headline valuation and more about how anyone extracts money from it without wrecking the business. Whatever you agree needs turning into a court order.

< class="heading text- text-"> Divorce and separation

No blame, no defending, and no hearing unless something is contested. The application is made online and takes around six months at minimum. Our advice for almost everyone is not to rush to the final order, because finalising the divorce before the finances are resolved can affect pension rights and other entitlements in ways that are difficult to undo.

< class="heading text- text-"> Arrangements for children

Living arrangements, time with each parent, schooling, holidays, and relocation. Sutton Coldfield throws up a particular version of this: parents whose work involves long hours, travel or shift patterns, where a neat alternate-weekends arrangement does not fit real life. Those need building properly rather than borrowing from a template, and they need to survive contact with a real diary.

< class="heading text- text-"> Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements

We are asked about these more often at Sutton Coldfield than at any other office, usually by people marrying again, by parents wanting to protect what they intend to pass to children from a first marriage, and by families where a business or inherited property is involved. Properly made means both sides independently advised, full disclosure on both sides, and signed in good time before the wedding rather than the week before.

< class="heading text- text-"> Separating without having married

No common law marriage exists, and long cohabitation gives you no automatic share of a partner's property or any maintenance for yourself. Where one partner owns the home and the other contributed to it, or gave up work, or was promised a share, there may be a claim, but it is harder to run and less predictable than a divorce settlement.

How we work

Don't leave financial matters until after the Final Order

The divorce process and financial settlement are dealt with separately. Getting your Final Order does not close off financial claims — your ex-spouse can still make claims against you months or even years later unless those claims are formally resolved in a sealed Consent Order. We strongly recommend getting financial matters sorted before applying for the Final Order.

Getting in touch

0121 716 3716 or the form on this page. Give us a rough outline. If there is a hearing date, a completion date, or a business transaction in progress, mention it, because those change the order things need doing in.

The first meeting

At Mere Green. Around an hour. If your finances are complicated, that hour is better spent if you can send anything relevant beforehand, but do not delay booking in order to gather documents.

Understanding what you actually have

For a financial matter, the useful documents are pension statements including transfer values, mortgage statements, recent payslips, company accounts if you have a business interest, and anything relating to inherited or pre-marital assets. Missing pieces are normal.

Working out the range

Financial cases rarely have a single right answer. They have a range that a court would regard as reasonable. We tell you where that range sits and where within it your position falls, so that you are negotiating against reality rather than against hope.

Costs and contact

Charges agreed in writing before work starts. Clear pricing agreed upfront. For financial cases we will also tell you when the cost of arguing a point is likely to exceed what the point is worth.

Sutton Coldfield, and why settlements here look different

Our office is at 316-318 Lichfield Road at Mere Green, which puts us within easy reach of Four Oaks, Little Aston, Streetly, Boldmere, Wylde Green, Walmley and the northern edge of Birmingham. Mere Green is a straightforward place to get to and to park near, and we see clients by appointment.

The Royal Town has a distinctive asset profile and it shapes the work. Long marriages, high property values, a concentration of senior professionals and business owners, and a noticeable amount of family money passed down a generation. In practice that means the argument in a Sutton Coldfield settlement is less often about how to split a modest pot and more often about what belongs in the pot at all.

What belongs in the pot, and what does not

Inherited property, assets built up before the marriage, and money held in a business are all capable of being treated differently from ordinary matrimonial property. None of that is automatic, though, and none of it survives being mixed in carelessly over twenty years. An inheritance kept in its own account has a far stronger argument attached to it than the same sum spent on an extension.

There is also a limit worth knowing about. However well founded an argument that something is non-matrimonial, it gives way where the matrimonial assets are not enough to meet both parties' needs. Anyone who has been told their inheritance is untouchable has been told something that is true only some of the time.

Why clients here instruct us

Financial cases are our largest workload here

Pensions, business interests, inherited assets and property. Valued properly, not estimated.

Pensions and business assets

The two things most often undervalued in a Sutton Coldfield settlement. We make sure neither is guessed at.

An eye on proportionality

We will tell you when arguing a point costs more than the point is worth.

Costs agreed upfront

Set out in writing before work begins. Clear pricing agreed upfront.

Wills and property in house

A settlement usually means a new will and often a house sale. Both are handled here.

Appointments at Mere Green

On Lichfield Road, easy to reach from Four Oaks, Streetly, Boldmere and Walmley.

Questions we are asked in Sutton Coldfield

Weighted towards the financial questions, because that is what clients here ask us about most.

Is my inheritance protected in a divorce?

Not automatically, though it may be. An inheritance received before or during a marriage can sometimes be treated as non-matrimonial and left out of the pot, but that depends heavily on what happened to it. Money kept separately in its own account has a much stronger argument than money put into the family home or used for joint spending. The other factor is need: if the matrimonial assets are not enough to house both of you, a court can reach into non-matrimonial property regardless. It is one of the most fact sensitive areas in family law.

What happens to my business if we divorce?

Courts are generally reluctant to break up a working business, because doing so usually destroys the value everybody is arguing over. The more common outcome is that the business stays with whoever runs it and the other party is compensated from elsewhere, through the house, pensions or payments over time. The difficult questions are what the business is genuinely worth and how cash can be taken out of it without damaging it. Both usually need an accountant as well as a solicitor.

How long does a financial settlement take?

Longer than the divorce, usually. Where both people give full disclosure promptly and the assets are straightforward, a consent order can often be agreed within a few months. Where there is a business to value, a defined benefit pension needing an actuary, or a disagreement about what is matrimonial, a year is realistic. The delays that actually matter are rarely legal ones. They are waiting for valuations, and waiting for one party to produce documents they would rather not produce.

Your Family Law Experts

Our Family Law team is here for people, not just cases. Approachable, compassionate, and focused on securing the best possible outcomes for you and your loved ones. Combining specialist expertise with clear, practical advice, they guide you through life's most challenging moments with sensitivity, integrity, and unwavering professionalism.

Joanne Vernon

LL.B. (Hons)

Associate Director, Head of Family Law

Sara Anderson

LL.B. (Hons)

Associate Director

Maisie Watts

LL.B. (Hons), LL.M.

Solicitor

Aisha Quereshi

LLB (Hons)

Solicitor

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