USEFUL SERVICES
Useful services when you separate
Divorce changes your money, your home, your credit and your paperwork all at once. These are the free guides, trusted specialists and support services our clients use most, grouped by what you might need next.
A quick, honest note: where we introduce you to a partner we may receive a small introducer fee. It never changes what you pay, and we only recommend people we know give good service at a fair price.
Free guides from Help Network
Clear, practical guides written for people going through divorce and separation. Start here.
Divorce Finance Guide
The big picture: what happens to the money, the home and pensions, and in what order.
Read the guideDivorce Playbook
A practical playbook of the steps to take, and the mistakes to avoid, from separation to settlement.
Read the playbookDivorce Flowchart
See the whole divorce and financial process on one page, so you know where you are and what comes next.
View the flowchartGuide to Divorce Hearings
What happens at each hearing, including the FDR, and how to prepare.
Read the guideLegal Options
Solicitors, McKenzie friends, mediation and doing it yourself: the options and what each costs.
Read the guideMortgage Options
Keeping the home, buying out your ex or buying again: how divorce affects your borrowing.
Read the guideFixing Your Credit Score
Untangle joint credit and rebuild your own record, often within a couple of months.
Read the guideInsurance and Wills
Why joint policies and old nominations can leave your ex as the beneficiary, and how to fix it.
Read the guideYour mortgage, home and insurance
Know what you can borrow before you agree a settlement, then get the right mortgage and cover in place afterwards. Read the mortgage guide.
Mortgage Capacity Report
A court-compliant expert report showing exactly what you could borrow, delivered the next working day.
Order a reportMMPE
Specialist mortgage and protection advisers who understand divorce. Free initial consultation on your mortgage and insurance.
Ask for an introductionCornerstone
Commercial mortgages, investments and equity release.
Ask for an introductionYour credit file
A clean, individual credit record unlocks your next mortgage on good terms. Read the credit guide.
checkmyfile
Check your credit report, spot errors and links to your ex, and track your score as it improves.
Check your credit filePensions and wills
Divorce does not automatically change your will, pension or life insurance nominations. Until you change them, your ex may still benefit. Read the insurance and wills guide.
Amicable – Pensions on Divorce
Pension sharing on divorce, including the PODE reports courts often need.
Find out moreOctopus Legacy
Write or update your will after divorce, so your estate goes where you want it to.
Update your willLegal help and paperwork
Until a financial order is approved by the court, either of you could still make a claim. Compare your legal options.
Family Court Bridge
Consent orders drafted by Deborah, an experienced McKenzie friend, for around £450. Mention Chapman Expert Reports when you get in touch.
Visit Family Court BridgeThe Court Corner
Find a McKenzie friend to support you through court if you are not using a solicitor.
Find a McKenzie friendFamily Mediation Council
Find an accredited family mediator near you, including for the MIAM you usually need before going to court.
Find a mediatorAdvicenow
Clear, free guides to court forms and hearings if you are representing yourself.
Visit AdvicenowBenefits, maintenance and money guidance
What you are entitled to often changes after separation, from Universal Credit to a 25% single-person council tax discount.
entitledto
A free benefits and entitlements calculator that takes about ten minutes.
Check your entitlementsChild Maintenance calculator
Work out what child maintenance should be paid, using the official GOV.UK calculator.
Use the calculatorMoneyHelper – divorce and separation
Free, impartial, government-backed guides to sorting money, pensions and the home when you separate.
Visit MoneyHelperDebt and housing help
If money is tight, never pay for debt help. It is free and confidential from the services below.
National Debtline
Free, confidential debt advice by phone and online.
Citizens Advice
General advice on money, benefits, housing and legal problems.
Shelter
Free housing advice if you need to leave the home, are struggling with rent, or face homelessness.
If an ex controlled your money
Economic abuse can mean debts in your name, being stopped from working, or having no access to money. Specialist help is available.
CEDEAS helpline (Money Advice Plus)
Free specialist money advice if your finances have been controlled or damaged by an ex-partner.
Contact the helplineYour health and wellbeing
You have been through a lot. Looking after yourself matters as much as any of the above.
Relate
Support through separation and with co-parenting.
Need to know what you can borrow?
A court-compliant Mortgage Capacity Report, written by a person, not a program, and delivered the next working day.
Order a report – £122.50 Get a free estimate