Family law
Divorce when the assets are complicated
A company that cannot simply be sold. Property in two countries. A visa that depends on the marriage. A prenuptial agreement signed under another country’s law.
The business is usually the problem
In most divorces the difficult asset is the house. In yours it is more likely to be the company.
A business is not a bank account. It cannot be halved. Selling it may destroy most of its value and the income both of you depend on. Valuing it produces a number that two experts will disagree about by a wide margin. And if your spouse holds shares, or worked in the business, or lent it money at the start, the argument is not only about what it is worth but about what share of it was ever yours.
The questions that decide these cases are specific: whether the business was built before the marriage or during it, whether its value is matrimonial or non-matrimonial, whether it can produce liquidity without being sold, whether a Wells sharing arrangement makes sense, and whether the court will treat future earnings as an asset or as income.
Getting them right is the difference between a settlement the business survives and one it does not.
Where we act
Seven kinds of family matter
01
Divorce: the process, and the part that matters
How a divorce actually proceeds, and why the money is decided separately from the marriage ending.
02
Divorce where a business is involved
Owner-managed companies, partnerships and LLPs, businesses built with a spouse, and the valuation and liquidity arguments that follow.
03
International and cross-border divorce
Which country you divorce in can change the financial outcome more than anything else in the case, and the choice is often decided by who issues first. Assets held abroad, foreign property, and enforcement across borders.
04
Financial settlements and financial remedy
Needs, sharing and compensation; pensions, which are the most commonly undervalued asset in English divorce; and the structure of the order rather than just its headline figure.
05
Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements
Agreements that stand up, agreements made abroad, and agreements somebody now wants to challenge.
06
Hidden assets and non-disclosure
Full and frank disclosure is a duty, not a courtesy. Where it has not happened, there are things the court can do about it — and orders obtained on the back of non-disclosure can be set aside.
07
Children arrangements and relocation
Arrangements for children, and applications to move abroad with them, which are among the most consequential decisions the family court makes.
Why clients come to us
When your divorce is not only a divorce
This is why clients come to us rather than to a firm that does family law alone.
Your spouse’s immigration status depends on the marriage
A spouse visa is tied to a subsisting relationship. Separation has consequences that are not obvious, the timing of a divorce application can affect an application for settlement, and advice given without understanding both sides of that gets people into serious difficulty.
The divorce and the exit are happening at once
A settlement agreement negotiated in January affects what is disclosed in financial proceedings in June. Deferred bonuses, share options and LTIP awards are matrimonial assets, and how they are characterised is worth arguing about.
There is a shareholder dispute in the background
When a marriage breaks down inside a business with other shareholders, two sets of proceedings can run at once and each affects the other.
In each of those situations most clients instruct two or three firms who do not speak to each other. We do the whole thing, and the advice is consistent because it comes from one person.
Reform
The law is under review
Financial provision on divorce is being reconsidered for the first time in decades. Following the Law Commission’s 2024 scoping report, the government consulted between June and August 2026. Its preferred approach — “codification-plus” — would put the settled principles of needs and sharing into statute and make specific changes alongside them. Two of those matter to anyone making plans now.
Qualifying nuptial agreements
At present a prenuptial agreement is not binding. The court must consider it, and will generally hold the parties to an agreement freely entered into with a full appreciation of its implications, unless it would be unfair to do so. The consultation asked whether properly made agreements should instead be binding. If that happens, the difference between a well-made agreement and a casually made one becomes much starker than it already is.
Rights for cohabiting couples
The consultation also proposed statutory financial rights for eligible cohabitants on separation, and inheritance rights where a partner dies without a will. Unmarried couples who have built a business or bought property together currently have very limited protection, and many of them believe otherwise.
Nothing has changed yet. The responses are being analysed. But if you are considering a nuptial agreement, or you are in a long cohabiting relationship with assets in one name, this is a good moment to take advice rather than a bad one.
Fees
What it costs
£400/hr
plus VAT, with a scope and an estimate agreed in writing before we start, and a call when the work approaches it.
Financial remedy proceedings are difficult to price as a single fixed fee because the other side’s conduct drives much of the cost. We can fix fees for discrete stages — a nuptial agreement, an initial advice and strategy note, a round of disclosure — and we will tell you at the outset which parts of your matter can be fixed and which cannot.
Questions
Questions people ask us
Will I have to sell my business?
Usually not. Courts are reluctant to order a sale where it would destroy value or the income both parties depend on, and there are normally alternatives — offsetting the business against other assets, structuring payment over time, or a Wells arrangement where one party retains shares and takes a share of future value instead of cash now. What matters is presenting the alternatives properly and early, before a sale becomes the obvious answer.
Is my business a matrimonial asset?
Partly, usually. A business built entirely before the marriage and unchanged since is more likely to be treated as non-matrimonial. One built during the marriage, or one that grew substantially during it, will generally be shared in some measure. Most real cases are a mixture, and the argument is about proportions rather than principle.
Are prenuptial agreements binding in England and Wales?
Not at present. The court must consider an agreement and will generally hold the parties to one entered into freely, with full appreciation of its implications, unless it would be unfair to do so — which means a well-made agreement carries real weight while a hastily made one may not. The government consulted in 2026 on making qualifying agreements binding. That has not become law, but it makes this a sensible moment to get an existing agreement reviewed.
My spouse is hiding assets. What can be done?
Disclosure is a duty, and there is a range of responses to a breach of it: orders for specific disclosure, questionnaires, adverse inferences drawn against the party who failed to disclose, costs orders, and in serious cases setting aside an order that was obtained on the back of non-disclosure. What is not advisable is gathering evidence yourself from your spouse’s accounts or devices, which can be a criminal offence and does more harm to your case than the documents are worth.
Which country should we divorce in?
Where more than one country could take jurisdiction, the choice can change the financial outcome dramatically — different countries treat pre-marital assets, maintenance and business interests very differently. It is frequently decided by who issues proceedings first. If there is any international element, take advice before you tell your spouse what you intend to do.
We were never married. Do I have any claim?
Currently, very limited ones — there is no such thing as common-law marriage in England and Wales, however long you have lived together. Claims usually depend on property law, trusts, or provision for children rather than family law. The government consulted in 2026 on statutory rights for cohabitants; nothing has changed yet, but this is an area to watch.
What will this cost?
£400 per hour plus VAT. Financial remedy proceedings are hard to fix as a single fee because much of the cost is driven by the other side’s conduct, but we can fix discrete stages and we will tell you at the outset which parts can be fixed and which cannot.
This page is general information, not legal advice. The right course depends on your circumstances — take advice on your own position.
Start with a conversation
A free 20-minute call, in confidence. Tell us what the assets look like and we will tell you where the difficulties are.
No charge
A free 20-minute call
Tell us what has happened and we will tell you whether we can help, what it would involve and roughly what it would cost. No advice is given on this call and there is no charge for it.
£350 plus VAT
A paid strategy session
One hour with a partner, followed by a written summary of your position and options. For people who want proper advice without instructing a firm yet. Credited in full against your fees if you go on to instruct us.
Or reach us directly
We answer enquiries the same working day.