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Our specialist team offers years of experience in helping families through financial separation challenges. The team includes:
When you need us…
Financial matters can be a stumbling block in many relationship breakdowns. Our family team have a wealth of experience in guiding clients through what is potentially a stressful time.
Whether married or living together, family financial issues can be complex and require legal expertise and know-how when it comes to unpicking these difficult situations.
Financial Solicitors
The team has extensive experience in handling a wide range of financial issues including matters relating to:
- The family home
- Finances of high net-worth individuals
- Investment portfolios
- 3rd party interests in property
- Protection (injunction) orders to preserve assets and avoid disposition
- Pensions
- Business interests
- Pre-nuptial and family separation agreements
- Co-habitation disputes
- Claims against property interests of partners
- Financial claims for and on behalf of children
- Trust of Land claims
- sch1 Children Act claims
Giving relevant and accurate advice, the family team’s supportive approach is welcomed by clients who appreciate their input in helping them reach a satisfactory outcome.
RECOGNISED LEGAL EXPERTISE
Registered in England, we offer specialist family law services throughout the country. In addition, many members of our team have been recognised by The Law Society and Resolution as being experts in their field. We've also been recognised by the Legal 500, which describes us as:
Smith Partnership is adept across all aspects of public childcare law and family law issues. Highly experienced family law practitioner Muctar Johal is praised for his ‘outstanding court advocacy and grasp of detail’. Johal jointly leads the practice in conjunction with Ruth Jones. Clare Cuomo remains another important contact within the group as a child law specialist and is lauded by clients as ’knowledgeable and organised’ as well as being ‘robust in the advice she provides’.
‘The client care provided by the team at Smith Partnership goes above and beyond. They pull together to support each other when preparing the most challenging cases. They provide a seamlessly excellent service.’
‘It was a privilege to be instructed by Muctar John and to lead him in a case. Muctar was such a pleasure to work with, because of his intellect, invaluable grasp of medical issues, impeccable preparation and most importantly, his empathetic management of his client. He is deservedly well-respected.’
The Legal 500, 2025
FAQs
Does my husband have to pay maintenance for me as his ex-wife?
This will depend on the circumstances of your case. Generally speaking, the court does like to try and achieve a clean break i.e. a dismissal of both parties’ claims including for maintenance when a marriage breaks down, however this is not always possible. If for example one party has put their career on hold and brought up the children/run the home, whilst the other party has been able to develop their career and is now earning a high salary, then the stay at home party may well be entitled to spousal maintenance. Unlike child maintenance, there is no formula, the main test is does one party need any money and if so does the other party have the resources i.e. disposable income to pay. If they do not have the resources, then, even if one party needs the money maintenance may not be paid. The court has a variety of powers open to them including giving maintenance for a fixed period of time, or possible joint lives orders. The court can also give nominal maintenance orders which mean that there is no absolute clean break and the party, normally the parent with care of young children, has the ability to apply to the court in the future for maintenance should their circumstances change.
Can I get my partner’s pension in a divorce settlement?
Often the answer to this is yes. Pensions are normally included as assets in divorce financial settlements, and they are often the biggest asset in terms of value. It is important that you get a good understanding of your pension entitlement and the impact of any divorce settlement upon your pension benefits. There is no automatic principle of division, it may depend on how long you have been together compared to how long you have been in the pension scheme. It may depend on whether or not one of you has been out of the working environment bringing up a family and therefore not able to contribute to their own pension. The way the matrimonial pot, including pensions, is divided between you and your partner would be decided either by agreement between the two of you or by the courts and would be based on factors such as the financial needs of each party as well as the length of the marriage.
There are a variety of ways that pensions can be dealt with, a common way is pension sharing whereby pension funds are divided so that both parties have a separate fund in their respective names. Sometimes there is pension offsetting which can involve one party transferring a proportionally larger share of their liquid assets to one party in return for their pension being left alone. Pensions are a highly complex area of law and frequently advice from actuaries must be taken.
