Reasons your female clients shouldn’t share a financial expert with their ex during and after divorce

Financial advice is likely already a part of your affluent female clients’ married lives.

Indeed, they may have attended review meetings with their spouse or civil partner, discussed their investments together, and relied on the same expert for years.

If they decide to get divorced, it might seem fine for both parties to continue working with the same financial professional.

However, this might not necessarily be in either party’s best interests.

During divorce, each person’s needs, priorities, and long-term goals might start to drift in different directions.

A shared financial plan may no longer be appropriate for both parties, and your female clients might need additional support tailored to their circumstances.

This could be especially vital if their ex-spouse or civil partner was the main point of contact with the financial expert, or if they’re less confident about managing their wealth.

Read on to discover why your female clients might benefit from having their own financial expert both during and after divorce.

1. There may be an inevitable conflict of interest

Even if a financial expert acted professionally for both parties during a marriage, divorce tends to change the relationship.

Your client and their ex-spouse or civil partner may no longer be working towards the same financial goals.

For instance, one might want to stay in the family home, while the other wishes to hold onto their pension. This means it can be challenging for a single financial expert to support both people equally.

It’s important to remember that financial decisions made during divorce can have lasting consequences, and your clients might need help understanding:

• The assets they may need to ensure their financial stability
• Whether a proposed settlement supports their ideal lifestyle
• How pension sharing could affect their retirement
• Whether they can afford to retain the family home
• The level of income they may need to meet their short-, medium-, and long-term goals.

If a professional attempts to stay neutral to appease both parties, they may struggle to explore other options that conflict with the other party’s needs.

Conversely, a separate financial expert could focus solely on your client’s circumstances, helping them gain a better understanding of what is fair.

2. Your client may not feel comfortable asking questions

In many high net worth households, one spouse or civil partner might have taken the lead on financial decisions. This can create a significant barrier if your client wasn’t fully involved or informed.

Indeed, she may feel embarrassed asking basic questions if she believes she should already understand her family’s financial situation.

Moreover, she may feel uncomfortable challenging any recommendations if the existing financial expert has worked with her ex-spouse for years, which has prevented her from building the knowledge needed to make informed decisions.

For example, she might not entirely understand how the couple’s wealth was invested, the level of risk she’s taken on, and how her pensions are valued.

A separate financial expert could help your female clients feel more comfortable asking questions without judgement.

This could also support your work as a solicitor because, when your client understands her financial position more clearly, she might be more able to offer constructive feedback during settlement negotiations.

3. A neutral third party could offer the strategic support your client needs

During a divorce, your client may require strategic support to determine exactly what she needs from a settlement and how various options might affect her future.

A shared expert might be able to offer factual information, but it may not be the bespoke guidance she needs to assess her options.

In contrast, a neutral third party can focus entirely on your client and tailor support to their specific needs.

Using cashflow planning, I can help your clients see how different settlement options might affect their finances over time.

This might include modelling whether they can realistically afford to stay in the family home or what level of income they’d need in retirement.

As a result, your client could be better placed to understand any compromises involved, while you have more financial information to support settlement negotiations.

Working together could help your clients make more informed decisions

When your female clients are going through a divorce, it might seem convenient to simply share the same financial expert as their future ex.

Yet, as you’ve read, this could limit the support and guidance they realistically receive.

Working with a financial expert who focuses solely on their needs could give your clients a better understanding of their finances and what they might need from a settlement.

And, if you’re a solicitor, your female clients could give better instructions and weigh up settlement options when they understand their position.

As an empathetic female financial expert who specialises in divorce, I can work alongside you to help your clients feel informed and confident throughout the entire process.