Conduct: Changing the blame game?

Rachel Freeman examines the impact of conduct within financial remedy proceedings and how revised costs provisions have added to the pressure to negotiate reasonably That a spouse’s bad behaviour will be disregarded in the financial settlement is already a bitter pill for some clients to swallow, yet now they are under more pressure to come …
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Non-disclosure: Preventing an unfair advantage

Nicola Meldrum and Helen Lafferty discuss the approach to quantifying assets in cases of non-disclosure and the courts’ powers in relation to the provision of a Get ‘If the court was required to fill in gaps when a party fails to comply with their disclosure obligations, that would hamper rather than assist the court’s task …
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Clarke v Allen & anr WTLR(w) 2019-10

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Conduct: Balancing the scales

Elizabeth Simos looks at issues of conduct and non-disclosure, and the impact where adverse inferences are drawn in needs cases ‘Arguments as to add-backs essentially come down to issues of conduct, namely conduct that it would, in the opinion of the court, be inequitable to disregard.’ Much to the dismay of ‘wronged’ spouses in England …
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Disclosure: No place to hide

Marilyn Bell provides a recap on the duty of financial disclosure, and the remedies available to combat incomplete disclosure ‘The court will look at the facts at the time the order was made, not with the benefit of hindsight.’ The parties to a divorce may provide financial disclosure voluntarily, or as part of court proceedings. …
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Enforcement: A rare bird

Lottie Tyler considers whether a court-appointed receiver may be an overlooked method of enforcement, not an unjustifiable expense ‘The possibility of an order appointing a receiver can be a substantial threat to wield against a respondent who is used to enjoying autonomy and control in all aspects of their life.’ The decisions in Sharland v …
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Conduct: The blame game

Rachel Wilmott highlights the courts’ approach when dealing with financial conduct and litigation conduct ‘There is no formulaic or accurate weighing mechanism for determining how the respective misconduct of the parties should be reflected in any order for costs.’ The decision in US v SR [2014] addresses at length the law on notional reattribution and …
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Litigation Conduct: Drawing inferences

Frances Bailey considers the courts’ approach where a party’s conduct during proceedings is in issue ‘An analysis of any add-back argument must also include an analysis of what both parties have spent and that the argument must be analysed in context.’ As ever, the law reports are seemingly full of cases where one party’s approach …
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Financial Provision: Defining disclosure

Patricia Robinson considers best practice when dealing with disclosure The parties’ duty to the court to provide full, frank and clear disclosure is absolute, and also a breach by commission is serious and amounts to plain perjury, whereas a breach by omission can be excused as an oversight. As set out in the Family Procedure …
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