When you separate from your partner you need to decide how you’re going to divide up assets like:
- pensions
- property
- savings
- investments
Divorce
If you are considering divorce it will end your marriage/civil partnership, it doesn’t necessarily sever financial obligations.
You can usually avoid going to court hearings if you agree how to split your money and property.
If you and your ex-partner agree on how to divide money and property, you need to apply for a consent order to make it legally binding.
Couples living together
If you’re living with your partner and your relationship ends, you don’t have to take any legal action to separate. You can simply stop living together and say you’re no longer in a relationship.
It is a common misconception that after a couple of years of living together you become common law partners with the same rights as married couples –Unfortunately this is not the case, the term ‘common law marriage’ has no legal standing.
You and your ex will still need to work out a way of dividing your joint money, joint debts and how any property will be dealt with. If you have children, you will need to work out how you will parent them together even though you are separating.
Children
You should consider arrangements for maintenance payments, including child maintenance (if you have children in full time education)
More information about making child arrangements
More information about child maintenance
The family home (married couples)
When you divorce or dissolve your civil partnership, you have several options about what you do with the family home.
If you own your home might decide to:
- Sell the home and both of you move out. You could use the money you’ve raised to put towards buying another home for each of you, if you can afford to do this.
- Arrange for one of you to buy the other out.
- Keep the home and not change who owns it. One partner could continue to live in it, perhaps until your children are 18 or leave school (if you have any).
- Transfer part of the value of the property from one partner to the other as part of the financial settlement. The partner who gave up a share of their ownership rights would keep a stake or ‘interest’ in the home. This means that when it’s sold, they’ll receive a percentage of its value.
More information about jointly owned property
If you rent your home you can:
Try to agree between you what you’ll do.
- You might agree that one of you moves out and the tenancy is signed over to the other person’s name alone.
- You might decide that both of you will move out and that you end the tenancy agreement.
If both you and your ex-partner are on the rental agreement, you’re both responsible for paying the rent until the tenancy ends.
Either of you can give notice to end the tenancy – unless it’s a fixed-term tenancy. This might be a problem if your relationship breakdown is acrimonious.
The family home (co-habiting couples)
If you own your home and you are named on the title deeds, you have the right to stay in the property. However, if you are both named on the title deeds, you will need to decide between you who will remain in your home, or if you wish to sell it. There is more information about jointly owned property here
If you rent the property you might agree that one of you moves out and the tenancy is signed over to the other person’s name alone or you might decide that both of you will move out and that you end the tenancy agreement.
If both you and your ex-partner are on the rental agreement, you’re both responsible for paying the rent until the tenancy ends.
Get help agreeing
You can use a mediator or get other help to resolve issues out of court.
Get the court to decide (married couples)
If you are are married and you cannot agree on everything, you can ask a court to make a financial order. You can apply for a court order any time after the conditional order (formerly decree nisi) is granted in a divorce or dissolution
You may need a solicitor to help you with a financial order, consider using a lawyer who practices collaborative law to avoid any conflict between you and your ex partner escalating. Even If you weren’t married and can’t agree about children, money or housing, you may also need to go to court to settle it.
Get the court to decide (co-habiting couples)
Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to make a claim against your ex for financial help for the benefit of any children you have together. You may be able to make a claim for:
- a ‘lump sum’ of money for one off or occasional capital costs connected to looking after your child, for example, a new car or washing machine, and/or,
- the transfer of capital into a housing fund, that lawyers call “a settlement” (we explain more about this next), or
- regular payments (lawyers call these ‘periodical’ payments) for the costs of your child’s care if the CMS has declared that your ex earns more than £156,000 gross a year, or if you are claiming money to help with your child’s disability or school fees.
Be aware that financial help from your ex, ordered by the court, to create a housing fund for you and the children is just to give them and you a home while you bring them up. It won’t give you any share in the property – you don’t get to keep it and the amount in the fund or ‘settlement’ will have to be repaid later. But it does mean you have somewhere for you and the children to live as they grow up. The usual time when the fund has to be re-paid is when your child reaches 18 or finishes their tertiary education up to and including first degree level (to include a gap year).
This area of the law is complicated, so you should get some advice from a good family law solicitor to find out where you stand.
Legal aid may be available for this type of case if you have experienced or are at risk of experiencing domestic abuse or violence.
If you’re in the UK as a dependant on your partner’s visa, you’ll also need to check if you can stay – search for an immigration adviser on GOV.UK
Last Updated on May 6, 2026 by Ashford Advice