Much is written in the media about big divorce settlements often involving the usual stereotype women gaining millions from wealthy husbands.
The reality is these large divorce settlements are very much in the minority of cases and women can often end up much worse off financially when they divorce if they have neglected to work on their careers or they have taken several years out to look after children.
This is highlighted in a recent report which found that financial inequality is generally built into divorce to the extent where women face the twin threats of a drain on finances fighting for things like custody of children and financial support.
Often women can be left with no home of their own when a house is sold or if they have children, former husbands may stop paying maintenance or try and bend the rules. Women who are divorcing self-employed ex partners and have no income of their own can be particularly vulnerable if there is no set income declared by and ex husband who wants to use non-payment as a weapon.
Currently the only way for women to reduce their financial risk is to remain financially independent so that if divorce does happen they can quickly recover from any financial loss.