Fair shares? Sorting out money and property on divorce

This project will investigate how divorcing couples in England and Wales negotiate financial arrangements, both inside and outside the legal system.

100,000 couples divorce each year in England and Wales, and the financial arrangements they make can determine the future standard of living for them and their children. However, only a third of divorcing couples use the legal system to reach a financial settlement: the remaining two thirds negotiate their own arrangements or reach no settlement at all. Very little is known about the processes by which divorcing couples reach their financial arrangements, or about the effects of different financial arrangements on them and their families over time. This study will provide the first detailed, fully representative picture of the position in England and Wales, including information on couples who do and do not make use of the legal system. It will also investigate how well divorcees feel they and their children are coping, financially and emotionally, with the post-divorce arrangements.

The first stage of the study will involve a survey of 2,000 people who have divorced in the past five years. This will be administered by YouGov. The survey will profile the use of different kinds of ongoing and ‘clean break’ financial arrangements including the processes by which these were reached; any professional support received; the respondent’s perception of the fairness of the agreement, both at the time and currently; and how well they feel arrangements have been working in terms of living standards, relationships and other outcomes. In addition to prevalence measures, regression analyses will be used to explore the predictors of different types of arrangements and outcomes. In-depth interviews with 50 divorcees will collect more detailed information on how arrangements were reached, what professional or other support they received and how they put their arrangements into effect. The study will probe how well they feel that they and their children are coping, both financially and emotionally, with the post-divorce set-up.

The research aims to provide essential data to inform current debates on how the law should be reformed, given increased pertinence with the recent announcement that the Law Commission is undertaking to review the law in England and Wales. It will also help to inform guidance for the legal profession, support providers and policy-interest groups to improve practice.