3. ‘I can’t afford to get divorced’

It is, of course, more expensive to fund two homes rather than one.

However that does not mean necessarily that the parties could not afford to divorce. The main asset from the marriage is usually the former matrimonial home and possibly pensions.

Different assets can be ‘offset’ against each other. So for example a wife may be more inclined to retain all of the equity in the house whilst the husband would prefer to keep all of his pension.

It is not the case that each specific asset has to be divided. For example the wife’s potential claim against the husband’s pension can be given up in exchange for keeping all or a greater share of the equity in the property.