Couples who fail to take out proper protection or create a financial plan could find themselves stumped should divorce happen further down the line, Louise Colley has warned.
The protection director for life and pension provider Aviva warned that people in the UK have not reviewed their money matters, leading to nearly £22,000 costs hitting each individual when it comes to divorce.
She said: “Two thirds of married or co-habiting couples have shared finances, so arrangements can take time to unravel if a relationship breaks down.
“Starting again after a separation can be a daunting time, not to mention a busy one, but it’s crucial that newly single people review money matters when their circumstances change.”
According to Aviva’s data, UK more than £44,000 is spent by couple divorcing or separating, totalling £5.7bn a year. It estimated the hidden cost of divorce could be £21,979 for each person or £43,958 for a couple.
Figures showed a 57 per cent increase since Aviva last carried out the survey in 2006.
Adviser view
Ritesh Sood, co-founder of London-based Finance4Divorce, said: “The astonishing statistic is the current financial arrangement couples have and the time it takes to resolve these matters post-divorce.
“This is the exact reason I set up Finance 4 Divorce as a joint collaboration between myself and co-founder divorce lawyer specialist Corinne Parke, to help determine how best the assets and financial arrangements should be split or rearranged.”
