Case study for Divorce pension resettlement

Sarah went through a messy divorce with her ex-husband and instructed solicitors to advise her through the divorce proceedings. In the divorce settlement, amongst other things, her divorce solicitors advised her that a 38% pension sharing order in respect of her ex-husband’s army pension was a fair outcome for her and a divorce settlement was reached on that basis.

Upon making enquiries with us, it appeared that her divorce solicitor did not get actuarial evidence in order to determine what would be a fair share of the pension. Public sector pensions are a complicated area and without expert advice, it would be difficult for a solicitor to advise as to what would represent a fair proportion to be agreeing in the divorce settlement. We formally submitted the claim to Sarah’s former solicitors who denied that they had been negligent but following negotiations, they made an offer of £20,000 which was accepted by Sarah. As a result, Sarah had additional money to move on with her life.