5 simple ways to help improve your clients' financial wellbeing on divorce

Your clients could be experiencing a knock to their financial wellbeing during a divorce. Here are five ways you could help improve it over the long term.

As a divorce expert, you will understand the range of effects that divorce has on a person’s wellbeing. The emotional ramifications of divorce, as well as the impact on the family’s day-to-day routine, can be long-lasting.

However, one regularly underestimated wellbeing factor affected by divorce is money.

Not only may your clients be spending thousands on legal fees and other short-term costs like moving house, but the ongoing reduction in household income for both parties may affect them for years, even into retirement.

With this in mind, it helps to understand the particular financial pain points of divorce in more detail. This knowledge can equip you with the tools you need to help improve your clients’ financial wellbeing both during and after a divorce.

Keep reading to find out five simple ways divorce professionals could help improve clients’ financial wellbeing.

1. Offer a regular point of contact

For someone experiencing something as all-consuming as a divorce, knowing that an expert is on their side can offer immense peace of mind.

When it comes to money, the laws around the separation of assets, tax, and child maintenance payments are complex. Your client’s wellbeing could be vastly improved simply by knowing that if they pick up the phone, you’re there to answer their questions.

2. Encourage data-driven decisions

Divorce brings up some difficult emotions for those involved, no matter how amicable the separation may be.

Several pieces of research have indicated that a heightened emotional state could lead to financial decisions that are emotionally fuelled, rather than being data-driven.

For example, the Mental Health Foundation (15 May 2023) reports that financial uncertainty can create significant anxiety. Whether it’s worrying about debt, income uncertainty, or their children’s future financial stability, your divorcing clients could become stuck in an unhelpful loop of financial anxiety and emotional decision-making.

As such, one of the simplest ways to help your clients’ wellbeing is to encourage data-driven wealth choices. This may include:

• Talking them through the possible outcomes of their decisions
• Establishing open, non-judgemental communication about financial choices
• Referring them to a financial planner who specialises in working with divorcing clients, using cashflow modelling to promote data-driven decisions over emotional ones.

Helping your clients to avoid rash decisions might, in turn, aid their progression both financially and emotionally during a divorce.

3. Help clients to set realistic goals

When divorce proceedings eventually conclude, clients might feel a combination of exhaustion and excitement for what the future holds.

As you may be aware, goal setting is a huge part of maintaining financial wellbeing, no matter your client’s age, occupation, or wealth status. But coming straight out of a lengthy separation, they could struggle to set realistic or helpful goals by themselves.

As a divorce expert, helping your clients to set realistic financial goals might improve their financial wellbeing by:

• Giving them a structured set of targets to work towards
• Avoiding unachievable targets that could dishearten them in future
• Offering “small wins” that improve their self-esteem.

In addition to your support, clients who experience low financial self-esteem and struggle to set goals could benefit from bespoke financial planning.

4. Introduce a positive perspective

While it may seem impossible for your clients to see the silver lining of their situation during a divorce, it could be constructive to offer a positive financial perspective.

Divorce can be a financially difficult process, but it also offers your clients the opportunity to go through their finances with a fine-toothed comb. What’s more, they can start this new chapter with a fresh set of financial goals that are aligned to their unique personal objectives.

Of course, it’s important to be tactical when introducing this positive outlook – but when the time is right, doing so could help your clients to see the financial opportunities that lie ahead.

5.  Refer your clients to a financial planner

As a solicitor, divorce coach, or professional who works with divorcing clients regularly, you may begin to incorporate the above steps into your interactions with clients.

One final step to take is to refer your clients to an independent financial planner.

I work with divorcing individuals (mostly women) whose aims are to emerge from this difficult chapter with a clear financial plan – one that sees them through the coming decades with stability and prosperity.

To learn more about how I can help your clients to protect and grow their wealth during and after divorce, email lottie@truefinancialdesign.co.uk or call 07824 554288.

As a new mummy, I will be on maternity leave until July 2024, so I appreciate your patience until I am back at my desk.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice.