The divorce process

It's important to note that the process of getting a divorce or dissolving your civil partnership is completely separate to agreeing any financial settlement or arrangements for your children.

We highly recommend seeking legal advice when coming to an agreement for your finances and any children to avoid potential complications after the divorce is finalised.

Financial settlements

When making the decision to dissolve your marriage or civil partnership, you'll likely have assets to divide between you. This can include savings, pensions, property, business and outstanding debts.

It's important to reach an agreement on how those assets will be split and obtain a legally binding document to avoid any issues arising in the future.

Child arrangements

Help with arrangements for children may be required if you can't come to an agreement on where or who the child or children live with, or how and when they will have contact with either parent.

It's important to agree on child arrangements prior to finalising a divorce or dissolution to avoid any complications after the marriage or partnership has ended.

How to decide on amicability

When considering how amicable your relationship is, it's good to think about the following points:

• How much trust is there in the relationship?
• How cooperative is the relationship?
• How much transparency is in the relationship?
• How able are you to problem solve together?

A useful guide on rating from 0 to 10 on the scale:

0: You don't want to be in the same room

1 - 3: You can't agree on any aspect and there is no trust or cooperation

4 - 6: There is some cooperation and trust but you are struggling to agree

7 - 8: The relationship is in a good place but support is needed to agree on some aspects

9 - 10: You are mostly in agreement and trust each other to make the right decisions