For litigants in person

General information, not advice on your own case.

If you are sorting your divorce without solicitors, the pension is the part it is easiest to get badly wrong, and the part where a little help goes a long way. The site walks you through it.

Do I need a PODE? Start with the free two-minute check. Plain questions, no paperwork, and “I don’t know” is a proper answer. It tells you whether you can safely deal with the pensions yourselves, or whether a proper valuation will save you far more than it costs. If your pensions are simple, similar pots of money, it may tell you that you do not need anyone, which is money saved.

Find a PODE. If you do need one, the directory lists verified experts, many of whom take instructions directly from individuals, not just through solicitors. Filter for that, and for the scheme and fee that suit you.

Instruct a PODE. Getting the instruction right matters most when you are doing it yourselves. The guide on what a good instruction contains explains each choice in plain English, and the letter-of-instruction builder walks you through it and produces one you can send. A single joint expert, instructed by both of you, is usually the cheapest and cleanest way.

And when the report comes back, the “after the report” pages tell you how to read it and turn it into a settlement.

July 2026