Navigating divorce with clear-headed financial planning

In this episode of Family Law in the UK, Family law Partner, Natasha Slabas is joined by Chartered Financial Planner, Jade Swanston of Advanta Wealth to unpack the financial realities of divorce and why expert advice - taken early - can be the difference between reactive decisions and a confident, sustainable plan. 

Jade explains how Advanta Wealth’s specialist divorce proposition grew out of real experience, including a colleague’s own divorce—illustrating how even finance professionals can feel overwhelmed without structured, future-focused planning.

The conversation centres on practical, plain-English guidance for people at any stage of separation. Jade outlines how cashflow modelling brings clarity to the “two households from one” challenge by creating a “base case” for life immediately post‑divorce and then stress‑testing realistic scenarios. Using financial disclosure (Form E), budgets and sensible assumptions, she shows how to assess affordability, prioritise needs, and avoid the common trap of focusing only on the family home at the expense of income, pensions and long‑term security. Natasha highlights how clients often overvalue the here‑and‑now and undervalue retirement planning; Jade describes how scenario planning helps weigh trade‑offs such as offsetting pension claims to keep the home, the long‑term cost of doing so, and whether downsizing or adjusting retirement timelines might be more prudent.

They also tackle Duxbury calculations and the appeal of a “bird in the hand” lump sum to capitalise maintenance. Jade explains how personalised cashflow modelling complements Duxbury by tailoring assumptions to an individual’s risk profile and life goals, exploring how to deploy a lump sum - whether via risk‑managed investments or income‑producing products - to meet spending needs over time. 

This episode also looks at hidden items that frequently get missed when couples “agree a deal” without full advice: updating wills and pension death nominations, revisiting beneficiary designations, splitting joint protection policies, and insuring maintenance obligations against death, incapacity or job loss. The takeaway is practical and empowering: comprehensive, early financial planning provides a calmer decision‑making framework in an emotionally charged process, helps you see beyond survival mode, and supports outcomes that stand up not only on day one after decree absolute, but 10–15 years down the line.