Read more articles in: Blog, Family Law, Stuart Daniel

Dividing property is one thing, but who gets the subscriptions?

During a divorce or separation, the conversations are usually dominated by what is going to happen to your property, savings, pensions and if children are in the picture, then how you plan to arrange custody.

However, in modern family life, there’s something else we need to bring into these conversations, and that’s subscriptions.

Everyday habits built around subscriptions

They may seem trivial, but subscriptions have become a staple of everyday life, whether we want to admit it or not.

According to Finder, four in five UK adults currently pay for at least one subscription.

Streaming platforms (Netflix, Disney+, Prime, Paramount, etc.), music services, gym memberships, food deliveries or monthly magazine clubs, many households will juggle several at once.

Meal kits can dictate what’s on the table each evening, especially where cooking may not be anyone’s strong suit.

Fitness apps and gym memberships are often depended on for discipline and wellbeing.

Binge-watching shows and films is often used as a “family bonding” activity. Sometimes it’s the only way to get everyone together in the same room.

So, when access to these services is lost during separation, the main impact isn’t necessarily financial, but more so the disruption it has on routines.

It can make the transition to independent living much harder than initially anticipated.

Violations of privacy and data

Streaming platforms and apps track our habits. They have algorithms built into them to build profiles based on what we’ve watched, listened to and ordered in order to offer recommendations and tailored playlists.

On the surface, this seems pretty harmless. However, if an account remains shared after separation and one individual is vindictive, they could weaponise shared accounts:

Changing a shared password to intentionally lock the other person out.
Monitoring the others’ accounts to see when they are active.
Using what appears in browsing or viewing logs as leverage in discussions about behaviour or parenting.
Cancelling or changing a delivery as a punitive measure.
Continuing to charge a joint card for services to maintain ongoing contact and control.

That behaviour can amount to controlling or coercive conduct, and digital monitoring or misuse of services is recognised explicitly within the law on coercive control.

The offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship is provided for under Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 and prosecutorial guidance recognises technology-facilitated abuse as part of the pattern.

How to untangle subscriptions

If you and your partner are separating, here are a few tips to help you enforce a clean split.

Complete an inventory of all shared services, detailing who pays, how it’s paid, login information and which devices are signed in.
Identify which subscriptions are paid from shared accounts or joint cards and arrange to stop or reassign payments through banks if needed.
Where appropriate, sign out devices from accounts and change passwords.
For services worth keeping, create personal accounts so habits and data do not remain shared.
If you share children, specify which parent controls child profiles.
Keep a paper trail of any correspondence with providers about account transfers or cancellations. That trail helps if disputes arise.
If subscriptions are being used to monitor or control, consider reporting to the police and seeking injunctive relief alongside family remedies.

What works for some families may not work for others, so it is up to you to have the conversations on how you want to separate, or in some instances, share your subscriptions going forward.

It is just one fragment in a much bigger picture, but one that may have a much bigger impact on you than you can recognise at the moment. Addressing it early helps to kick off your new chapter.

Please speak to one of our solicitors to make sure nothing is left unresolved.

Stuart Daniel

Director – Head of Family Department

I qualified as a Solicitor in 2006 and now specialise in divorce, financial settlements, childcare arrangements and Pre Nuptial Agreements. I have many years’ experience as a private family lawyer having worked with two other local firms before returning to Mander Hadley, where I first undertook work experience during my university studies.