The report, compiled in conjunction with Resolution, which represents 6,500 family justice professionals, found that there is a growing need for specialist financial advisers in the divorce and separation market, estimated at £500m (€568, $636) each year.
There are currently just 42 financial advice specialists accredited in family law, said the report, which was written by a group of financial advisers and planners.
The number equates to just one adviser for every 5,000 people that divorce each year.
Nigel Shepherd, national chair of Resolution, said: “Advising those going through a divorce or separation is a very specialist area. There are real opportunities for those financial advisers that are able to position themselves as experts in the field.”
Keith Richards, PFS chief executive, said: “Financial advisers are crucial in every aspect of a family case, and Resolution members are ‘crying out’ for specialist advisers.”
Surge in demand
The PFS says that solicitors, mediators, family consultants and barristers have all reported a shortage of financial advisers in this field.
It cites one family lawyer who reveals that 99.9% of his cases are about the financial needs for the separating couple, including how much they require to buy a house, what their mortgage capacity is.
“This involves looking at investments to see what income this can provide for them. And importantly, it’s also about what they’re going to need at retirement. It’s very rare I see a case where financial input isn’t needed at some stage,” he said.
Meanwhile, another family mediator said: “I would like to involve financial advisers more in all my cases, but at the moment there just aren’t enough of them working in this area. I have two or three that I am close to… but they are really, really busy!”
