Financial planning after divorce: A motivational and practical guide to empower your female clients

If you have female clients who are going through divorce, this practical financial planning guide could help them feel empowered to take control of their wealth.

The end of a marriage or civil partnership might leave your clients feeling uncertain about their financial future, both in the short and the long term.

In fact, recent research published by Money Marketing (6 January 2025) has revealed that 17% of all divorces in the past five years were deferred due to money worries, including:

• Income concerns (13%)
• Rising living expenses (12%)
• The cost of divorce (12%).

Yet, with expert guidance and careful preparation, divorce could provide a valuable opportunity for your female clients to reclaim their financial independence and plan for their new life after separation.

As a financial expert who specialises in divorce, I have put together this guide to help your female clients feel empowered to take control of their finances after their marriage or civil partnership ends. Please feel free to share this guide with your clients.

1. Adopt a positive mindset

If your marriage ends, you might feel sadness at the loss of the relationship and your shared plans for the future.

However, divorce could also mark the beginning of a new chapter in your life. One in which you’re in control – perhaps for the first time.

Indeed, divorce might provide an invaluable opportunity to rethink what you want your future to look like and set the wheels in motion to achieve this.

So, instead of viewing your divorce as an ending, try to adopt a positive mindset by seizing the opportunity to:

• Reset your priorities and create a vision for your future
• Make time for self-care
• Build more positive financial habits
• Seek help from friends, family, and support groups.

If you’re struggling to feel positive about the future following your divorce, take heart from reassuring research published by the Guardian (30 April 2023), which found that women who get divorced are happier than they have ever been, on average, throughout their lives.

Read more: Money mindset: How to change your thinking and achieve your financial goals

2. Review your post-divorce financial situation

Understanding your post-divorce income, assets, and expenses, is essential for making informed decisions about your future.

If you’re switching from a two-income household to a single income, you may need to readjust your expectations and set a new budget.

By reviewing your essential outgoings – such as your rent or mortgage, childcare costs, and so on – and assessing your post-divorce household income, you might be able to identify opportunities for cutting back on spending and saving or investing more.

While this may sound like an intimidating task, knowing your numbers could help you feel more in control of your finances.

You might find it helpful to:

• Gather and organise all your financial documents
• Review your divorce settlement to understand how your assets, income, and debts will be shared
• Set up a way to track your spending, savings, and investments
• Ask a financial expert to provide an objective review of your finances.

Having a clear and accurate understanding of your financial situation after divorce could put you in a strong position to craft a meaningful financial plan that aligns with your goals.

3. Set meaningful goals for your new life

As you move away from a marriage or civil partnership, it’s likely that your financial goals and life ambitions might change.

Perhaps you had shared goals with your former spouse or partner, that now need to be altered or reconsidered.

Creating a new vision for your post-divorce future could support a positive mindset and help you plan financially for your future.

Yet, if you’re used to sharing your financial responsibilities, going it alone might feel overwhelming. You might like to try:

• Breaking your long-term goals down into short- and medium-term goals.
• Celebrating small wins to boost your confidence and foster a sense of achievement.
• Working with a financial expert to develop a practical strategy for reaching your goals.

Putting meaningful goals in place and tracking your progress towards them could be an empowering and motivating step on your journey toward financial independence.

4. Rebuild your financial resilience

Divorce might leave you feeling finically vulnerable, especially if your ex-spouse or partner was the primary breadwinner or took control of the household finances.

So, rebuilding your financial resilience is a key part of your roadmap to financial security following a separation.

You might want to consider:

• Building an emergency fund to cover at least 3 to 6 months of living expenses
• Adjusting your retirement plan by reviewing your pension, savings, and investments
• Ensuring that you have appropriate financial protection for your new circumstances
• Separating your accounts and debts from your ex-spouse to avoid being affected by their financial behaviours
• Updating your estate plan to ensure that it reflects your current wishes
• Educating yourself financially.

Putting a financial safety net in place could provide invaluable peace of mind if you’re feeling uncertain about your future following divorce.

5. Seek advice from a financial expert

As a financial expert who specialises in divorce, I can help you transform financial uncertainty into empowerment and independence.

During and after your divorce, we can work together to:

• Review your new financial situation
• Craft a financial plan that aligns with your goals
• Explore practical options for ensuring your long-term financial security and resilience
• Boost your financial confidence by enhancing your knowledge and understanding.

I hope that this guide is a useful tool for your female divorcing clients as they begin a new chapter in their lives.

Get in touch

To find out more about the expert financial support I can provide during and after divorce, please contact me at lottie@truefinancialdesign.co.uk or call 07824 554288.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

FP32832 ARTICLES 1 & 2 APPROVED BY 2PLAN ON 16.01.2025 UNTIL 16.01.2026