Stowe talks

No longer the preserve of the ultra- wealthy, prenups, postnups and petnups are on the rise. But what are they, what can they cover, and do they stand up in court?

Take a listen as Matt & Liza dive into nuptial agreements, the advantages, the challenges, and the laws surrounding them. Along with when and how they are useful, especially for people marrying later in life, wanting to protect family assets or preserve inheritance for their kids, and when they are not. 

Conversation then moves to the rise of the petnup, how pets are viewed in d...

A staggering 95% of survivors of domestic abuse experience economic abuse, leaving them isolated, trapped, dependent and confused. 

So, we asked Tamsin Caine, a Chartered Financial Planner from Smart Divorce, to join us to look at how to recognise the signs of economic abuse and what you can do about it. 

A financial specialist in advising people going through a divorce or separation. Tamsin covers: 

Surrogacy is a wonderful way for people to build their family outside traditional norms, but it comes with legal complexities that often surprise people. 

In this episode, Matt & Liza were delighted to welcome Andrew Powell, one of the country’s leading children's law barristers from 4PB, who specialises in surrogacy law, to explore how surrogacy works in the UK and internationally. 

An expert on surrogacy and the modern family, Andrew covers: 

 One in 6-7 men is a domestic abuse survivor*, but only half of male victims (49%) fail to tell anyone they are a victim. Stigma, fear, shame, misinformation and societal pressures all contribute to men suffering in silence and not reporting their perpetrator. 

In this episode, hosts Matt & Liza were joined by Tom Nash, aka Mr Divorce Coach, a specialist Divorce, Separation and Family Coach, to talk through the challenges faced by men struggling and trapped in abusive relationships. 

Using his expertise and insight from supporting male clients, Tom talks about the different types of abuse, red...

Divorce and separation can be difficult for any child, but supporting teenagers through it can bring a host of different issues. 

In this episode, Matt & Liza were joined by one of the UK's leading relationship and family coaches, Nichole Farrow, as she shared her advice on how to support teenagers, including the best way to tell them, how to avoid overexposing them to what is happening, the importance of putting in boundaries, and creating a safe space to enable them to share their views. 

She also discusses role-modelling the right behaviours, showing your emotions, helping th...

Reaching a financial settlement in divorce requires people to gather a wealth of information and paperwork, so they have a clear picture of their finances and the evidence required to complete the 30-page plus daunting Form E.

In this episode, hosts Matt & Liza offer practical advice to help people prepare, including where to start, what the process to reach a settlement is, the role of financial disclosure, how to complete the Form E, what information you need to gather, and what you can do if your ex won’t provide the information.

They also cover ho...

 In this episode, we welcomed Jodie Phelps, a leading Financial Planner, about the importance of, and how to achieve financial wellbeing following a divorce or separation.

We begin our chat exploring what lies beneath financial well-being, the importance of understanding your relationship with money, managing your mindset, and identifying and learning to avoid your spending triggers.

Jodie then turns to where to start when faced with managing your finances solo - don’t bury your head in the sand, get everything out on the table, take it step by step and plan, plan and...

In this episode, Matt & Liza were thrilled to be joined by award-winning comedian and creator of global hit podcast and book The Breakup Monologues, Rosie Wilby, to look at the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community during a relationship breakdown. 

Rosie shares her passion for understanding the impact of heart break, before exploring monogamy, the history of relationships in the community, the various forms of cheating, how lesbians pioneered conscious uncoupling way before Gwyneth Paltrow, and how the gay community approaches the adversity caused by separating differently. 

She explores the expectation that marriage and re...

In this episode, hosts Matt & Liza explore the rising popularity of DIY divorces, how and when they work well, and the common dangers and pitfalls. 

They explain what a DIY divorce is, the current online process, and the difficulties that can arise from the implications of not completing the paperwork correctly in the beginning.

They then turn to the numerous problems that can be caused by not getting legal advice on your finances, including inheritance and Wills, protecting yourself from future claims from your ex-spouse, and the dangers of ignoring any pensions, before looking at h...

In the second part of this episode, Dr Supriya McKenna, a highly experienced specialist narcissism expert, continues to share her advice and practical tools and techniques for people trying to parent alongside a narcissist. 

(You can access the first part of this episode here.)

We pick the conversation back up as she explores the role of parallel parenting and how to help children understand the narcissist behaviours and deal with the way they respond by validating their experience and emotions. 

She then continues with tips and advice on how to manage communication with th...