Savings and investments

Advice on savings and investments
Not everyone who gets divorced ends up struggling financially. Some spouses actually do rather well out of it.  Right now writing or rewriting your will is probably a good idea.  Your will as a married person becomes void when you get divorced so if you want to decide who inherits what from you then a new will is essential.

If you find yourself in the happy position of not having to lie awake at night fretting about money and 'borrowing' from the children\'s piggy banks to buy groceries you may still need advice and information on how to manage your finances to the best advantage.

Independent Financial Advisers
An IFA  is the only type of financial adviser who can select from all available financial products thus making sure that you get the right one for your needs.  They have access to thousands of products including mortgages, pensions, insurance and general investments. Many have particular areas of expertise and there are many around the country who specialise in divorce finances .  They are regulated by rules laid down by the Financial Services Authority so you can have confidence in their knowledge and expertise.

Stockbrokers
Stockbrokers are also regulated and authorised by the FSA and some are able to give an execution only service whereby they buy and sell shares for you for a fee but don’t give advice.  Others have authority to give advice on what to buy or sell and will charge a fee accordingly.

Banks, building societies and National Savings and Investments
All of these will give you information about low risk savings products may give you advice which you can choose to ignore and make your decision independently.

A financial adviser does not have to be specifically authorised by the Financial Services Authority to give advice about savings products but if you are using one for advice on say, investments, he/she could help you choose if you so desired.

Advice and comparisons between the different savings products available can also be found online and in newspapers and magazines.

Savings and investments
If you have money to spare you can either save or invest it or, indeed, you can save some and invest some.  If you opt to save, your money is put aside without risk and with the opportunity to earn interest. If you invest money there is potential for greater growth but returns are not guaranteed.

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