Reducing the Cost of your Divorce: Negotiating a Settlement

The importance of negotiating a favourable divorce settlement cannot be understated. This settlement will, after all, be used to make any number of vital post-divorce purchases. Chief amongst which is certain to be a new place to call home.

This can – and often does – lead people to adopt an overly aggressive position during negotiations; they decide that they are unwilling to concede anything and allow a war of attrition to develop between them and their spouse. The end result, sadly, is that a significant portion of their assets are swallowed up by their representatives, leaving both parties with significantly less than what they could, potentially, have come away with.

Negotiating a divorce settlement is, ultimately, a task that requires great nuance. Surrendering everything to the other party will leave you with next to nothing but refusing to yield whatsoever will generate a similar result. This produces a taxing conundrum: how does one remain calm, dispassionate and logical whilst their marriage is coming to an end?

Listen to professional advice

As solicitors we will always follow our client’s instructions. So, if we’re told to dig our heels in and to communicate in no uncertain terms that not a single inch will be given we’ll do so in a professional manner. What we will not do, however, is act on instructions without having provided advice and ensured that we’ve communicated it effectively.

So, should you tell us that you’re unwilling to negotiate, the first thing that we will do is tell you why we don’t think that’s in your best interests. We’ll explain why doing so could be detrimental to your future financial wellbeing and suggest a better course of action. Bear in mind, though, that this also works both ways and, if an offer is received and we deem it to be unreasonable, we’ll tell you and, provided you’re happy for us to do so, will go about negotiating something more appropriate.

We’re obliged to act in your best interests

Whilst we endeavour to achieve the best settlement possible – and also recognise that this is likely to involve some compromise – this is not just because we believe it is our ethical obligation to do so. Our clients are guaranteed we’ll always be acting in their best interests for one simple reasons: we’re regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

In accordance with the code of conduct that is set out by this body, we are obligated to act in the best interests of each of our clients at all times. Furthermore, any advice we offer must be bespoke and tailored to the client and their individual circumstances.

Ultimately, this means that we every single action we take, every piece of advice we dispense and each piece of correspondence we send is calculated and has been determined to be both consistent with your instructions and, simultaneously, in your best interests.