Financial abuse and divorce settlements: your rights and options

Frequently asked questions

Is financial abuse a crime in the UK?

Economic abuse is legally recognised as a form of domestic abuse under section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which defines it as any behaviour that has a substantial adverse effect on your ability to acquire, use or maintain money or other property, or to obtain goods or services. Recognition in that Act is what opens up the civil and family law protections described in this guide. Separately, controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship is a criminal offence under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, and specific acts such as taking out credit in your name without consent can be fraud or theft. Whether to involve the police is a decision only you can make, and a specialist domestic abuse service can talk it through with you confidentially before you do anything. If you are in immediate danger, call 999, and if you cannot speak, press 55 when prompted from a mobile so the call is transferred to the police (gov.uk).

Do I have to sit in mediation with someone who financially controlled me?

No. Before most family court applications about money or children you are expected to attend a MIAM, a mediation information and assessment meeting, but gov.uk confirms you do not have to attend a MIAM in some circumstances, for example where there has been domestic abuse. A mediator will also assess suitability separately and should not proceed where one party cannot negotiate freely. Even where mediation is possible, shuttle mediation (each party in a separate room, with the mediator moving between them) and remote sessions are normal adjustments. Mediation can be genuinely useful for some survivors because it avoids court, but it only works where both people can say no safely. Our divorce mediation guide sets out how the process runs and what the exemptions look like in practice.

Can I get legal aid if I have experienced financial abuse?

Possibly. Legal aid for family cases was largely withdrawn in 2013 but remains available where you have evidence that you or your children have experienced domestic abuse, and you must also pass the means test on income and capital. Gov.uk lists the bodies that can supply that evidence, including the courts, the police, a multi-agency risk assessment conference, social services, a health professional, a refuge manager, a domestic abuse support service, your bank, your employer, or the provider of any benefits you have received. Because economic abuse is domestic abuse under the 2021 Act, evidence about financial control counts. If you are refused on means because assets are held jointly with the other party, say so: the assessment can take account of assets you genuinely cannot access.

My ex took out credit cards and a loan in my name during the marriage and I only found out when I separated. What can I do?

This is coerced debt and there is a route for it. Do not simply stop paying, because that damages your credit file without resolving anything. Get an appointment with a free debt advice service and explain the background. Trained money and debt advisers can complete the Economic Abuse Evidence Form, a single mechanism developed by Surviving Economic Abuse and Money Advice Plus that tells a creditor you have experienced economic abuse without you having to repeat your story to each firm. Surviving Economic Abuse reports that 70% of requests supported by the form received a decision within 6 weeks, and that the average decision time was 13 days with the form against 63 days without it. Creditors that have signed the UK Finance Financial Abuse Code have committed to handling these cases properly. Outcomes vary and can include writing off or suspending the debt, separating joint liabilities, or stopping contact through the other party. In parallel, the debt still has to be dealt with in the divorce settlement itself, because the court looks at the net asset position.

Will the court give me a bigger share of the settlement because of the abuse?

Not automatically, and it is important to go in with realistic expectations. Section 25(2)(g) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 requires the court to take conduct into account only where it would be inequitable to disregard it, which is a high threshold. In Tsvetkov v Khayrova [2023] EWFC 130 the court confirmed a two-stage approach: first the conduct must be established, then the court considers how it and its financial consequences affect the outcome, and conduct must be pleaded early rather than raised at the final hearing. Where abuse has identifiable financial consequences, for example money deliberately dissipated, earning capacity destroyed, or debts run up in your name, those consequences can be reflected, sometimes by adding back dissipated sums. Where the harm is real but not financially quantifiable, the court's response is more often through needs and through costs orders than through a larger percentage share.

What if my ex refuses to disclose their finances and controlled all the money during the marriage?

That is a disclosure problem rather than a conduct problem, and the machinery for it is strong. Both parties owe the court a duty of full and frank disclosure, normally on Form E, and a court application on Form A costs £321. Where answers are evasive, questionnaires, third-party disclosure orders and adverse inferences follow, and a settlement obtained by material non-disclosure can be set aside years later. If you have never seen the accounts, that is a common starting point and not a fatal one, because the obligation to produce documents sits with the person who holds them. Our guide to hidden assets in divorce covers the enforcement tools in detail. What you should not do is log into their accounts or take their documents to build your own case, because unlawfully obtained material usually has to be returned and can damage your position.

Can I be protected in court from the person who abused me?

Yes, and you should ask early. Family courts can make participation directions under Part 3A of the Family Procedure Rules, which include separate entrances and waiting areas, staggered arrival times, screens in the courtroom, and attendance by video link. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 also made victims of domestic abuse automatically eligible for special measures in family proceedings. Since 21 July 2022, section 65 of that Act has prohibited a party from cross-examining an alleged victim in person, and where cross-examination is necessary the court can appoint a qualified legal representative to carry it out instead. Tell your solicitor or the court staff what you need as soon as proceedings start, ideally in writing, because arrangements such as screens and separate waiting areas need to be booked in advance.

I cannot afford the court fees because my ex controls the accounts. Is there help?

Yes. The divorce or dissolution application fee is £628 (from 13 July 2026), the consent order fee is £62 and a contested financial order application on Form A costs £321. Help with Fees (form EX160) is assessed on the applicant's own income and disposable capital, which matters if the money you can actually reach is far less than the household's apparent wealth. The income thresholds are £1,420 for a single applicant and £2,130 for a couple, with a per-child uplift of £425 for a child aged 0 to 13 or £710 for a child aged 14 or over, and help tapers by 50p for each £1 of monthly income above the threshold, capped at the fee. Disposable-capital limits are £4,250 for a fee up to £1,420, or £16,000 if the applicant or their partner is aged 66 or over. If you have already paid, there is a 3-month refund window.

Where can I get confidential support about financial abuse?

Refuge runs the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247, free and available 24 hours a day (gov.uk). Men experiencing domestic abuse can call the Men's Advice Line on 0808 801 0327, and Galop supports LGBT+ victims on 0800 999 5428. In Wales, Live Fear Free is on 0808 80 10 100; in Scotland, the Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline is on 0800 027 1234; in Northern Ireland, the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline is on 0808 802 1414. Surviving Economic Abuse is the UK charity focused specifically on economic abuse and publishes practical guidance on bank accounts, debts and benefits. Use a device the other person cannot access, and check whether the helpline number will appear on a shared phone bill before you call.

Related articles

• Does adultery affect a divorce financial settlement? (2026)

  Adultery stopped being a ground for divorce in England and Wales on 6 April 2022, and it has almost no effect on how money is divided. The court divides assets by reference to needs, sharing and the section 25 factors, not by apportioning blame for why the marriage ended. Conduct is only taken into account under section 25(2)(g) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 where it would be inequitable to disregard it, a high bar met by serious physical harm, reckless dissipation of assets and non-disclosure rather than by infidelity. The one route where an affair touches the numbers is money: significant sums spent on a new partner can sometimes be added back notionally to the spender's share, and a new partner who contributes to household costs affects a spousal maintenance needs assessment. Child maintenance is unaffected entirely, because the Child Maintenance Service applies a formula to gross weekly income with no conduct element.

• Business assets and limited companies in divorce: what happens

  In England and Wales, shares in a limited company are a financial resource the court can value and divide on divorce, even if the company was built by one spouse alone or founded before the marriage. The company itself is a separate legal person, so the court deals with the shareholding rather than the company's premises or bank account, and it almost never forces a trading business to be broken up. Instead, a single joint expert values the shares, usually on a multiple of maintainable earnings or a net asset basis, and the settlement is built around that figure. Because a valuation is paper value rather than cash, most cases resolve by offsetting, where the owner keeps the company and the other spouse takes more of the liquid assets, rather than by transferring shares. The tax mechanics matter: transfers between separating spouses are no gain no loss for 3 tax years after separation, or without time limit under a court order, while a sale of shares to fund a settlement can qualify for Business Asset Disposal Relief at 18 percent. Where the business mainly produces income, a Duxbury-style capitalisation can convert a maintenance claim into a one-off lump sum and buy a clean break.

• Crypto and digital assets in divorce: disclosure, value and tax

  Cryptocurrency and other digital assets are part of the matrimonial pot in England and Wales and must be disclosed in full on Form E, exactly like a bank account or a pension. Hiding them is getting harder: from 1 January 2026, crypto exchanges serving UK customers must collect user and transaction data under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework and report it to HMRC. The two problems crypto creates in a settlement are valuation, because prices can swing sharply between disclosure and a final order, and tax, because moving coins between spouses is a disposal for capital gains tax unless it lands inside the no-gain-no-loss window, which runs for 3 tax years after the tax year of separation and without time limit under a court order. This guide covers the disclosure duty, how to value volatile holdings, how hidden wallets are traced, the CGT mechanics with worked figures, and the practical evidence steps to take before you negotiate.