Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Divorce definition

What does Divorce mean? Divorce is the court process that ends a marriage and allows remarriage. In practice it involves a divorce application and, often in parallel, financial remedies (ancillary relief) and child arrangements, which are separate. In England and Wales (Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020; Matrimonial Causes Act 1973), a no‑fault regime applies: a sole or joint application is made on the single ground of irretrievable breakdown, evidenced by a statement. The court issues a conditional order and, after the statutory minimum period, a final order (replacing decree nisi/absolute). In Scotland (Divorce (Scotland) Act 1976), irretrievable breakdown is proved by adultery, unreasonable behaviour, or...

Pension sharing on divorce in Scotland: defined benefit schemes—valuation, qualifying agreements, implementation and trustee duties; practical differences from the rest of the UK

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Practice notes

Practice Note: pension sharing orders on divorce in Scotland (defined benefit schemes)

This Practice Note offers a concise overview of how pension sharing orders on divorce in Scotland apply to defined benefit pension schemes. It is not designed to address every detail of the pension sharing framework.

Key legislation and regulations

Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985 (FL(S)A 1985)
Part IV of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (WRPA 1999)
Pensions on Divorce etc (Pension Sharing) (Scotland) Regulations 2000, SI 2000/1051

There are also other pertinent regulations, some of which are mentioned within this Practice Note.

Following the divorce of a marriage or the dissolution of a civil partnership, a pension may constitute part of the matrimonial property. The court may order a redistribution of the pension between the spouses or civil partners, or the parties may reach an agreement between themselves on how the pension should be divided...

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Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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