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You won't be shocked to hear that as a divorce legal representative one of the questions that I'm frequently asked is, 'when is my finest time to declare divorce in order to get the highest settlement?'.

The reward they want is their partner (or better half's) pension and I provide a very easy response: the longer the marriage - the larger the claim.

Take Trudy whose second marital relationship was to Eric, a wealthy residential or commercial property developer who had a couple of residential or commercial properties, ISAs and financial investments. To Trudy, the genuine prize was Eric's pension which deserved more than ₤ 1 million.

The marital relationship pertained to an end after five years, but when Trudy tried to claim versus Eric's pension she was devastated to be told by her attorney that instead of the half-share that she had calculated in her mind that she would be awarded, she was wrong.

Eric could, in truth, ring fence all the pension that he had developed prior to the marriage. This indicated that Trudy could only claim a tiny percentage that had actually accrued during their brief time together.

The judge felt that the excessiveness of Trudy's claim was too high which most of the wealth in the marital relationship had actually originated from Eric and this was shown in the settlement that Trudy received.

So while she got a capitalised settlement to reflect the way of life that they had actually enjoyed together, it was nowhere near her expectations. The moral of this story? A short marriage equals less possessions granted.

It could not have been more different for Gloria, who was wed to Frank for more than 30 years. Frank admitted to having affairs with ladies who he referred to as assistance', believing it did not actually count as infidelity. It did to Gloria. As the pensions stacked up throughout their 3 years relationship, Gloria was able to claim half of it and was given equality of all the pensions.

Vanessa Lloyd Platt, a top divorce lawyer, states the longer the marital relationship, the larger the divorce claim

Frank might not call fence one cent of it. And thanks to the length of the marital relationship, Gloria got what is called a 'Joint Lives Order' for maintenance. In other words, this suggests Gloria would be offered upkeep for life, although this is uncommon today as the majority of maintenance payments are for a set term only.

It was not helped by the fact that Frank had actually not been upcoming over the real level of his cost savings and had at the last moment attempted to transfer funds offshore. He was offered a punitive award and Gloria gained from several thousands more on her side of the divorce formula. The moral here is that dishonesty does not pay - particularly in a divorce court.

So that's short and long marital relationships - what about a longer than typical length of marriage (12 years) for say 15 years?

Here the court will equalise the capital of the pension unless wealth has been accrued before or certainly, for a duration, after separation.

It is constantly essential that a pensions professional evaluate the worth of a pension so the correct figure can be determined.

Which is where Gemma came unstuck. She had a 16-year marriage to City broker Paul. His pension faced hundreds of countless pounds. Gemma was none too troubled by the pension but, like many partners I see, she wanted the security of remaining in the home that she enjoyed. So rather of claiming any of Paul's pension she traded it off versus the value of your home.

This is called a 'set-off', but as an attorney I would always recommend to any client that an actuary report is obtained very first and all alternatives are considered.

Wives in particular can bring out a lower deal when they select this choice. The ethical here is that you might feel young and all set to begin afresh, however do not be too fast to trade away your future pension.

Vanessa says that in a marital relationship longer than the average of 12 years, the court will equalise the capital of the pension unless wealth has actually been accumulated before or, for a period, after separation

Another question I'm frequently asked is whether an arbitrator will consider all of the couple's assets to increase a settlement.

Numerous individuals appear to believe that conciliators will go simple on the celebrations - and other halves in particular - might get away with more by utilizing a mediator, than if the matter is before the court.

This is a misconception, as Neil found. The business director believed that mediation would indicate that he might put pressure on Judy to settle. It had actually been a long marital relationship covering twenty-eight years and he thought that Judy was not the brightest. He felt he might bluff his method through and hoodwink the arbitrator.

What Neil had not reckoned upon was the perseverance and cleverness of the arbitrator who insisted that all details be produced for the conferences. The arbitrator could see that Neil was being obstructive in responding to questions about monetary deals and motion of cash between subsidiary business.

Little had actually Neil thought that the conciliator had actually been a forensic private investigator for HMRC, before ending up being a matrimonial conciliator. After lots of sessions the conciliator recommended a settlement figure which Neil was outraged by and insisted they litigate. Unfortunately for Neil - the precise same settlement figure was reached in court. It deserves remembering that mediation can be a better method of resolving matters but is never a soft option.

Mediators will assist the couple and advise actuaries to work out pension divisions whatever the length of the marriage. The courts are now encouraging the parties to think about alternatives to court proceedings more than ever. Arbitration is also being encouraged. All these alternatives are offered in short, medium and long marital relationships.

This is the factor EVERYONE is separating ... and why your marriage is at danger without you understanding

So no matter the length of your marital relationship, I advise all my customers not to have unrealistic expectations of what the last figure ought to be. It's crucial to understand that you can not punish your quickly to be ex-partner in the courtroom. Unless you can demonstrate that the behaviour of your partner has actually had a monetary effect, the conduct or behaviour will be overlooked.

Let me introduce you now to Henry, who believed that he was being particularly smart when he transferred his shares in the family business to his bro, moneyed in the capital from his pension and provided it to a pal and bought himself a Lamborghini.

This was because Claudia, his spouse of twelve years had begun divorce procedures. At the end of the litigation, the court discovered that he was intentionally attempting to minimize the possessions available to Claudia and added back all the worth of the pension, the expense of the Lamborghini and the shares to his side of the equation and then divided all of it in half. Henry's actions were so contrived that his attempts to drain pipes the properties totally backfired on him. Oh and Henry needed to sell the Lamborghini.
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The ethical of the story when it pertains to how to increase your settlement? Don't try to be too creative, play reasonable and truthfully, or risk the extremely opposite of what you wished to accomplish. Divorce can be a minefield, and it does not need to explode for either of you if you both take practical steps towards dealing with matters.

* All names have been changed to safeguard customer identity.