Whether you're combining finances or separating them, marriage and divorce both require careful financial planning. The decisions made in these moments tend to have consequences that last decades.
Marriage and divorce sit at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, but they share something in common financially: both involve significant restructuring of assets, income, debts, and long-term plans. Both benefit enormously from good advice — and both can go badly wrong without it.
Getting married doesn't require you to merge everything, and for many couples, a hybrid approach — some shared accounts and finances, some separate — works well. What matters is that you've thought about it deliberately, rather than drifting into a financial arrangement by default.
Key things to address when you marry include: updating your will, reviewing beneficiary nominations on your superannuation, reassessing your insurance cover (particularly income protection and life), and understanding how your combined income affects your tax position and any government entitlements.
For couples where one partner has significantly more assets or debt than the other, or where one partner has children from a previous relationship, more detailed estate and asset planning may be warranted.
Divorce involves some of the most financially complex decisions a person will face. Property, superannuation, investments, debts, and ongoing income obligations all need to be addressed — typically under time pressure and emotional stress.
Superannuation splitting is one area that is frequently mishandled. Super is not automatically included in a property settlement — it requires a specific agreement or court order. Without it, one party can leave a long marriage with significantly less retirement savings than they're legally entitled to.
The family home, investment properties, and other assets need to be divided in a way that's both legally sound and financially sensible. The tax implications of transferring or selling assets — including CGT on investment properties — need to be factored into any settlement.
Geoff works alongside family lawyers during divorce proceedings to ensure the financial advice dimension is properly handled. A lawyer can tell you what the law requires; we help you understand the long-term financial consequences of different settlement structures.
Once a settlement is finalised, there's significant rebuilding work to do — new insurance arrangements, updated estate planning, a revised superannuation strategy, and a financial plan built around your new circumstances. We help clients work through this methodically rather than reactively.
Talk to GeoffA straightforward conversation with Geoff could give you more clarity than years of going it alone. There's no obligation — just honest, practical advice from someone who's been doing this for over two decades.
