older couple divorcing, no dependents

[MorrisZapp]

If a married couple with no dependent children get divorced, would they be expected to split assets fifty fifty?

Mortgage paid off, one party has a decent pension, other party has no pension.

Is there anything in law about this, or do solicitors thrash it out case by case?

Is there any reason they shouldn't split 50/50?

When my sister divorced, she kept the house ( ex council house worth £40k) in exchange for a smaller share of his pension, which she doesnt get until he is 65.

If you've been married for at least 20 years+, the courts generally suggest 50/50. However, there are no hard and fast rules. It's just a guideline. This is the advice I was given during my divorce.

In the end it actually went more in my exH's favour, but that's because he's the MD of a Limited Company. I'm not going to explain why that complicated things unless it's specific to your situation too.

I'm 50 ish, divorced in mid 40's, we'd been married 20 years, no dependents.

The above applies to divorce in England. I don't know about any other country.

The starting point is 50/50 yes but couples can come to their own arrangement rather than thrashing it out in courts at vast expense. However, it's well worth talking to a solicitor in the first instance to find out what is fair and have an idea of the parameters. That also potentially includes the pension if it's an older couple, especially if one party has sacrificed their earnings down the years to help the other amass that pension.

Are you talking about under Scottish law, Morris?

The general principle is equitable division with a clean break but there are some wrinkles that the people concerned might have to investigate eg if there were inheritances on either side or if one of the parties came into the marriage with a higher pension provision than the other (which they had already built up.)

It's probably well worth talking to a solicitor even though there is a cheaper 'Simple Divorce' procedure which can be followed.

PS - there is a whole load of information available about this, Yes.

Personally, if they had been married a couple of years, I think they should keep what they brought to the marriage.
If married decades, then a 50-50 split seems fair, unless one of them decided to sit with their feet up and relax.

Pension contributions should be considered an investment, so yes, I think they should be shared.

My sister wiped the floor with her ex, took him totally to the cleaners even with no children. She hired an excellent female lawyer who managed to get the house, car and most of the other assets which also included some investments which went on the very well. Think it was around a 70:30 split in the end.

That doesn't sound fair, Lady15.

I was thinking the same, unless he had massive amounts in investments/savings/pensions.