A recent change in divorce law means that a couples assets are more likely to be split equally, regardless of who contributed what to the kitty.

Who get’s the bigger share?
Settling out of court
Top tips for easy asset division
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In May 2006, the House of Lords made a judgment on two landmark cases (Miller and Macfarlane), which set precedents for divvying up assets between spouses. In each case, spouses got more or less half of everything, rather than a proportion based on who contributed what to the marriage.
“We are now having to advise clients who are getting married that, if they divorce, there will be an automatic assumption of equality of assets,” says Debra Emery, a solicitor at Moore & Blatch. “Before these cases, it had been assumed that in shorter marriages in particular (those lasting under two or three years) the husband and wife would each get back what they had contributed.”

Who get’s the bigger share?
While this may send a chill down your spine if you’ve been relentlessly climbing the career ladder for decades, while your other half has sat back and enjoyed the fruits of your labour, there’s not much you can do to change the situation.
Remember, couples going through amicable divorces can, of course, divide the assets as they wish. Actress Billie Piper, for instance, took nothing from her far wealthier ex-husband, Chris Evans.
“Many people will still split their assets to reflect the financial contributions that they each made, either because both parties think this is fair or because one of them can produce strong reasons for departing from the rulings of judges in previous cases,” explained Stewart. But, if you have children, most judges will rule that the main carer gets a bigger share of the goods.

Settling out of court
Although the law is still unclear as the Miller and Mcfarlane were problematic – being contradictory in parts, and being described as “exceptional and not having full relevance to ordinary, less wealthy couples” (i.e. the likes of you and I), the bottom line is that fairness and the welfare of children are the overriding factors. 
Ultimately, it’s best to try and agree on dividing your assets rather than getting your solicitors to do it, as this will be more expensive and, if it ends up in court, the ruling can take a major departure from key principles like equality.

Read on for top tips on dividing assets…