How to use a self storage unit when going through a divorce or separation

Every divorce is different, but unless you are extremely lucky, they all have in common that they are stressful, not much fun, expensive and time/consuming.

According to the ONS  (office for National Statistics, a government department), in England and Wales  5-10% of marriages end in divorce. 

The logistics of divorces are stressful: splitting any assets, physically moving as well as emotionally, custody of any children. Feelings of embarrassment, regret, even guilt, can be hard to deal with and friends don´t know how to react and whether to take ´sides´. There´s an emotional load as well as a practical one.

How self-storage can help parting couples will vary with each situation, but there are some common situations where self-storage can prove helpful. And you won't be alone: more than one in ten self-storage users are there because of life changing events such as divorce.

Situation: Both parties move out of shared home

1.      Selling a shared home

Self-storage will offer the space to store belongings, allowing couples to declutter their home ready for sale.

2.      Moving out of rented accommodation

Moving out of rented accommodation has just as many deadlines as selling a home, but often with the added pressure of making sure that the place is immaculately clean, that everything is put back to where it was when the tenants first moved in, and the inventory is checked.

Self-storage allows tenants to move their things out into a safe, dry place, while they clear the rental property ready to hand back. Whilst checking out with belongings still in the home is, of course, possible, the owners or the agency coming in to check are going to view checkout far more positively from the outset if the place looks empty, clean and tidy than with former tenants belongings in every corner.

3.      Store belongings until new homes are found

Self-storage offers a space to keep things safely until each partner has found a new place to live.

If the new place (or places) is a temporary fix, for example staying with friends or family, or temporary rented accommodation, self-storage is a space to keep possessions safe and in one place, without overloading someone else’s home, or moving and packing/unpacking the same things repeatedly.

4.      Downsizing

Often when couples split, both will have to ´downsize´ to smaller properties.

Self-storage allows things to be safely stored until decisions can be made about what will and won´t fit into a new home (or homes).

5.      Time to see what's needed

Whilst it may be tempting to get rid of anything not immediately needed, we can never know exactly what we´ll need in our new lives when big changes are made.

Having self-storage, even just for a few months, can keep options open and save re-buying things that are already owned at an already expensive time.

6.      Memories

Sometimes people want to hold onto things like wedding albums to help them mourn the end of a relationship, or, conversely, to remember the good things about their now ex-partner.

Others would like to set fire to the whole lot.

Whilst burning wedding photos after a divorce may seem cathartic, they are usually pictures with memories of happier times. With time they will be easier to deal with and can even help us move on. It's better to store them - and other mementoes - than make hasty decisions.

Good reasons for holding onto things like photos include wanting any children to see them; and when it comes to children´s baby books, first toys and the like, holding them in a neutral space can be a positive first step towards putting children's interests first, and successful co-parenting.

The process of sorting them can be painful, but can sometimes also give divorcing parents a start point toward healthy communication for the children's sake going forward.

Situation: One partner remains in the shared home

7.      Space to make new housing arrangements

If one partner is remaining in the shared home (for example with children, or because a property was theirs before marriage), self-storage offers the partner who is moving out a space to keep their belongings until they have found a new home.

This also forces couples to make decisions about who is taking what from the home. Which leads us to….

Situation: Disputes over possessions

8.      A safe space while decisions are made

Where there are disputes over ownership of possessions, self-storage can provide a neutral space for these things whilst decisions are made.

(If a partner believes their spouse will sell or remove assets, solicitors can apply for an injunction order, known as a ´section 37 order´, which stops the sale of assets - or freezes money held in bank accounts. If the items are held in a self-storage facility this becomes easier to manage and enforce.)

9.      Holding space for valuables

If items are awaiting valuations to decide on divorce details (such as jewellery, valuable artworks and the like), self-storage proves a safe, neutral space for these belongings whilst divorce details are finalised.

This not only applies to things of value, but for other things that couples can't agree on….

10.  When couples can't agree

It is not uncommon for partners to start to see the financial value of their settlement as an indication of the value they brought to the marriage.

Sometimes holding things in storage until emotions have cooled allows the partners to see things in a different light – for example that red leather suite both are arguing over suddenly becomes a liability as partners move into new spaces where it would not fit anyway, for style, colour or size reasons.

Time can often put things in their place.

Situation: Joint Finances

Divorce takes a while to be dealt with, the legal bit alone needing roughly five months just to have the application for divorce accepted. Splitting assets can be complex.

Financial papers, like mortgage papers, may be part of our past, but can also be important in future for applying for loans or mortgages.

Joint savings and investments will need sorting.

Pension papers will play an important role in deciding the value of joint assets for divorce purposes

Management of any assets held by children will need to be agreed.

Although many assets are now held digitally, having this joint paperwork in a safe, dry space, with both partners agreeing on access arrangements can prove invaluable when partners are in the process of splitting and physically moving apart. They can offer up important details like account numbers, start dates etc when contacting the appropriate organisations.

Keeping them safe is far better than losing them under (or in) packing boxes, and may help things run faster, or at very least smoother.

Pink Self Storage

Pink offers clean, secure storage space across Wales and in the Manchester area of England. Easy to book and easy for owners to access, a list of locations can be found here: Pink Self Storage locations