From wife’s inheritance of £57 million, is a £5 million award to the husband on divorce the right decision?

The Court of Appeal has just heard an interesting case regarding the division of an inheritance in divorce proceedings.

The case concerned a couple who had been married for 20 years. The wife had, prior to the marriage, inherited £57 million. Throughout the marriage, neither party had worked, choosing to be ‘stay at home’ parents and not pursue careers. The court in the first instance awarded the husband £5 million of the overall assets and the husband appealed this, saying that the award was ‘minimalist’.

The husband’s barrister argued that if the roles were reversed, and it was the husband who had inherited wealth of this magnitude, on divorce the wife would have been awarded a sum greater than £5 million. He also commented that it was more difficult to secure a husband a large settlement when the wealth belonged to the wife. The barrister added that this may be because generally speaking, husbands are perceived to be breadwinners, and to support the family financially and therefore, it has to be taken into account that the wife has not worked or built up a career or assets of her own.

Can it be argued that by virtue of not working and being a homemaker, the husband has sacrificed a career and therefore has suffered a disadvantage as a result of the marriage? It appeared to be a joint decision that neither the husband nor the wife would work, and that the wife’s inheritance would be used to support the family. If the husband does not receive a sum equal to what a wife would receive if the roles were reversed, would it be a matter of gender discrimination?

Inheritance on divorce is a grey area. If such inheritance was received prior to the marriage, it may be considered not to form part of the marital assets. However, in the case of a long marriage, pre-martial assets can often ‘merge’ with any assets accrued during the marriage and hence be included in the “matrimonial pot” to be divided on divorce.

In some cases, credit can be given to a spouse who has made a significant effort to increase the value of assets or the level of income during the marriage but in this case, the lawyers for the husband argued that the wife had made no “special contribution” to the assets of the marriage.

Do you think that this award accurately reflects what the husband in such a situation should receive? Or do you think that in a marriage as long as this, the assets should be divided equally and the husband compensated for his lack of career? We would like to know your views.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/8354580/Divorced-husband-fights-for-more-of-ex-wifes-57-million-fortune.html


Sharon Powell and Anne Thomas, Hart Brown Family Department

Compensation received before marriage, a matrimonial asset?

It has been reported by the Daily Mail this afternoon that a man who received the sum of £500,000.00 by way of compensation following a car crash five years before he met his wife has been ordered by the court to pay over £285,000.00 of that money to his now ex wife as part of a financial settlement on divorce.

The Judge in this case appears to have classed the husband’s compensation as part of the matrimonial assets.

This is an unusual case, and begs the question can it be fair that the husband now faces financial hardship by losing an asset that not only was provided as compensation for his disability, but one that he received before he met his ex wife?

The husband has now been granted permission to appeal against this ruling.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1354470/Divorce-judge-orders-crash-amputee-hand-500-000-compensation-ex-wife.html

Anne Thomas, Legal Executive, Hart Brown

Divorce - the cheapest option isn't always the best option.

The president of the Law Society was recently questioned about his thoughts on internet divorce; he stated that “the cheapest option is not always the best” and that “online divorce is not suitable for cases where there is an imbalance of power between the spouses, or where a spouse is withholding information.” Without a solicitor how do you know if your spouse is withholding information? How do you address the imbalance of power without external influence?

A Managing Director from an online divorce company also commented recently saying that “we recommend people seek advice from solicitors...we can’t give advice”.

Would you be tempted to have a “cheap” divorce online? Can year's of marriage really be ended in such a simple way? Can your assets be split that easily?

Find out more about how Hart Brown’s Divorce lawyers can help.

Divorce insurance – A good idea?

In the wake of legal aid being cut for divorce and family related matters, it is being reported in the media today that a possible way to make financial provision for a divorce should you require one in the future is to take out an insurance policy that covers the cost of a divorce.

The cost of dealing with a divorce and the associated finances can be high if court proceedings are issued to resolve the finances.

It may be that couples will start to look at other methods of resolving finances, divorce and issues relating to children, such as mediation or collaborative law.

Do you think that the government are right to cut the legal aid budget for family cases? Do you think that taking out insurance policies will put pressure on couples? Do you think that preventative measures, such as insurance policies and pre-nuptial agreements are a good thing?

Will such an insurance policy cover all the possible issues that can arise from a divorce, such as children?

Let us hear your views.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1330026/Divorce-insurance-advised-ministers-legal-aid-crackdown-looms.html

Anne Thomas, Legal Executive, Hart Brown Family Department

Prince William to marry Kate Middleton

Today sees the announcement of the marriage of Prince William to his long term girlfriend, Kate Middleton.

The past few weeks have seen much comment and speculation in the media about couples who are planning to marry and whether or not they should consider entering into a pre-nuptial agreement. The recently reported case of Radmacher –v- Granatino highlighted the current status of pre-nuptial agreements and whether they are something that more couples should be considering.

Although not the most romantic discussion to have with your fiancé, it is something that couples should contemplate. One party may have a higher income, or be coming into the marriage with significantly more assets. Additionally, one party may have much greater inheritance prospects. A pre-nuptial agreement could help protect your assets or income.

There are rumours of a high-street department store offering pre-nuptial agreements as part of their wedding packages and it is likely that there will be several DIY versions available in the future. Although this may seem like a cheap way to get a pre-nuptial, in the long run it could be more costly as upon divorce you may end up in court arguing over whether it is ‘fair’ and whether it was entered into correctly. It is far better to seek advice from an expert who you can see face to face and draft a personally tailored pre-nuptial to meet your needs.

Do you think that pre-nuptial agreements are relevant in today’s society? Do you think that Kate and William should consider such an agreement?
Let us have your views.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11765422

Anne Thomas, Legal Executive, Hart Brown family department

Judge says that children are damaged by divorcing parents

This morning on the BBC Breakfast News, comments made in a speech by a senior family judge, Sir Nicholas Wall were discussed.

The speech was made to the charity Families Need Fathers. In the speech, he said that parents “do not realise the damage they do to their children” and that a child’s self worth can be “irredeemably damaged” if one parent makes it clear to the child that their other parent is worthless. He also said that parents find it hard to understand that even though they have separated from their spouse, their children will still love and be loyal to both of them.

Discussing the matter this morning, Liz Edwards from Resolution said that parents don’t have enough information on how to manage their relationship with an ex-spouse going forward. Craig Pickering from Families Need Fathers advised for parents to seek help on separation.

As commented by Liz Edwards, parents should consider what they want to achieve and then consider what the effect will be on the children. Perhaps easier said than done for separating spouses when emotions are raw? However, with the support of an understanding lawyer, this can be much more achievable than one might think.

At Hart Brown, our lawyers are Resolution (which was formerly known as the Solicitors Family Law Association) accredited and we understand that separation can be a difficult time for both parents and children. We will work with you to find practical solutions and to help minimise the negative impact on children.

Link to BBC article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11380470

Read more about Hart Brown's Family Department

Cheryl & Ashley Cole - How quick will their divorce really be?

Today, the media are reporting that Ashley and Cheryl Cole’s divorce will be finalised in the High Court today.

However, this is not correct. The Decree Nisi will be pronounced today in court, which is the first decree in the divorce proceedings. There are two decrees in any divorce, the second one being the Decree Absolute. It is only when the Decree Absolute has been pronounced that the marriage will legally be dissolved.

There is a time delay of six weeks and one day once the Decree Nisi has been pronounced and before the Decree Absolute can be applied for by the Petitioner in the proceedings. The reason for this delay is that this is deemed to be a ‘cooling off’ period, and during this time, the parties are still legally married. The purpose of this is that it gives both parties time to consider a reconciliation. Contrary to what the media portray, a divorce is not obtained so easily in England and Wales and the court must be satisfied that there are valid reasons and that both parties have fully considered the consequences. Therefore, Ashley and Cheryl will remain married for at least another six weeks and one day!

Cheryl and Ashley’s divorce, as with many celebrity divorces is being termed by the media as a ‘quickie divorce’. However, the concept of the ‘quickie divorce’ does not exist and Cheryl and Ashley will be proceeding through exactly the same divorce process as any other couple. There is of course also the financial settlement that appears to have been negotiated which is separate to the divorce proceedings. It can take some time to reach a financial settlement, especially where there is a considerable amount of wealth.

Link to news story:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11173177

Anne Thomas, Family Department, Hart Brown Solicitors