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Olivia’s comments were published in IFA Magazine, 7 June 2026 and can be seen here.
Olivia Piercy, Partner in our Family & Relationships department, discusses how the Government’s latest White Paper on the financial aspects of relationship breakdown marks an important step in recognising the financial impact of domestic abuse.
Olivia highlights that this issue has long been overlooked within the family justice system, where the economic consequences of abuse have too often been treated as secondary rather than central to achieving fair outcomes for survivors and their children.
The article explains that domestic abuse frequently extends beyond physical harm and includes economic abuse, such as controlling access to money, hiding assets, or prolonging legal proceedings to exert pressure. Despite growing awareness, current laws and court practices have struggled to adequately account for these behaviours when determining financial settlements on divorce, often leaving victim-survivors at a significant disadvantage.
Proposed reforms aim to address this by ensuring that the financial impact of abuse is properly recognised in court decisions and by strengthening safeguards within financial remedy proceedings. This includes preventing perpetrators from using the legal process itself as a tool for ongoing abuse, improving enforcement of financial orders, and ensuring that victims are better supported financially during and after separation.
Overall, the reforms represent a significant opportunity to reshape how the legal system responds to domestic abuse in divorce, with a stronger emphasis on fairness and protection for survivors. However, the article notes that meaningful change will depend on both legislative reform and a broader cultural shift across the family justice system to ensure the economic realities faced by survivors are fully understood and addressed.
Read the full article on the IFA Magazine website [external link].
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