Looking for help in your family court proceedings?Bridge The Gap is a free, community-built guide to UK family court, written by litigants and McKenzie Friends, for litigants. Real observations, plain English, and people who can help.
Assumption: "The offer is fair if it sounds reasonable."
1 min readThis content reflects observational insights and lived community experiences. It does not constitute legal advice — always consult a qualified professional for your specific circumstances.
What People Expect
Litigants often accept an offer at face value because it sounds balanced, without checking the underlying figures.
Court Reality
An offer like 'you keep the house and I keep my pension' is an offsetting arrangement, and it only works if the value of the equity you keep is roughly equal to the value of the pension you give up. Offsetting is not automatically fair, and it is not automatically unfair either. The figures decide it.
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The Gap?
"The offer is fair if it sounds reasonable."
Court Reality
An offer like 'you keep the house and I keep my pension' is an offsetting arrangement, and it only works if the value of the equity you keep is roughly equal to the value of the pension you give up.
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