Sonny Patel sets out the courts’ approach to inherited assets and steps that can be taken to protect the interests of parties ‘The duration of the marriage, and the duration of the time the wealth had been enjoyed by the parties, will be relevant, so too their standard of living and the extent to which …
Continue reading "Inherited Assets: Defining assets"
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Eleanor Aguirre considers how needs will impact on inherited assets The former matrimonial home, even if brought into the marriage by one party, usually has a central place and should normally be treated as matrimonial property. The recent High Court judgment in Y v Y [2012] provides a useful reminder of the approach the courts …
Continue reading "Inherited Assets: Balancing point"
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Tracey Dargan and Nathaniel Groarke summarise the courts’ approach to pre-acquired and inherited assets In N v F, Mostyn J stated that he would have excluded more of the husband’s pre-marital assets were it not for the fact that such assets were required to meet the wife’s needs. A number of recent reported cases have …
Continue reading "Financial Provision: Building fences"
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In the conclusion to a two-part analysis Hannah Minty and Sally Nash compare the differences in practice between financial provision in England and Wales and in Scotland ‘In Scotland, inherited assets are specifically excluded from the definition of matrimonial property, and therefore are not taken into account in determining entitlement to financial provision.’ Part one …
Continue reading "International Focus: Close comparison"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | April 2012 #118The parties separated after a relationship of approximately 25 years and the wife commenced divorce proceedings (decree nisi being pronounced in October 2010). They had one child who was aged 18 (the husband had three children by his first marriage). The husband was aged 66 and the wife 54.
The total wealth was in the region of £21-£24m (all but approximately £1m was in the husband’s name). The source of the husband’s wealth was a business that his father bought shortly after the second world war, which floated in the 1950s and sold in the late 1980s. From his father, the husband ...
Frances Bailey considers the latest case on lottery winnings and the courts’ approach to non-matrimonial assets ‘Much, it is clear, hinges on whether lottery winnings can be deemed matrimonial or non-matrimonial property.’ In ‘Money Can’t Buy You Love’, FLJ100, October 2010, I lamented the very limited guidance on the treatment of lottery winnings by the …
Continue reading "Non-Matrimonial Assets: Sharing windfalls"
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Wills & Trusts Law Reports | January/February 2012 #116On H’s ancillary relief claim, Bodey J awarded him a sum of £5m pursuant to an open offer made by W. W had assets worth approximately £57m and H had assets of approximately £300,000, represented by the former matrimonial home which was transferred to him by W in the course of the divorce. The couple began cohabiting in Israel in 1986, and underwent a ceremony of marriage that was not valid under Israeli law. They married legally in England in 1991, where they have lived ever since. The length of the relationship was 21 years and there are children from the marriage. Substantially the who...
Sofie Hoffman assesses the current state of play with trusts and divorce ‘The judge decided that the wealth of the couple was not the product of their endeavours; the husband’s inherited wealth was non-matrimonial and so the sharing principle should not apply.’According to the latest statistics for marriage and divorce in England and Wales (2009 …
Continue reading "Guest Editorial: Love and marriage"
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Julian Bremner analyses the impact of the treatment of pre-marriage assets on the courts’ approach ‘The court in K v L [2011] was at pains to point out that the recognition that one partner had made a greater financial contribution to the marriage than the other is not discriminative and, although superficial differences should not …
Continue reading "Pre-Marriage Assets: Modest standards"
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Issues of privacy and human rights, examined by Claire Sanders ‘Parties to family proceedings have rarely succeeded in restricting media access or reporting where their only concern is their own privacy.’ The decision in TK v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2011] illustrates the importance of privacy in family life and its interaction with freedom of …
Continue reading "Privacy: Behind closed doors"
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