Blog
Rayner my parade! The importance of specialist advice.
Jemma Brimblecombe
25 May 2011
A matter of trust...continued
If ever a reminder were needed about the wide ranging powers and discretion of the English court in divorce proceedings, it came yesterday in the Judgment given by the Court of Appeal in the case of Whaley.
30 March 2011
Matter of Trust
The question of whether assets held in trust should be counted as matrimonial assets has come to the fore again with reports in the press that Athelstan Whaley is appealing against the Judgment that he must pay his wife, Belinda, £3.75m. The basis of his appeal appears to be that the total matrimonial assets are actually approximately £4m, not the £10m the Court found by including trust assets.
8 February 2011
What's mine is yours...depending on what it is and when I got it.
In the recent case of JvJ, the Court of Appeal gave guidance on the treatment of non matrimonial assets, which in this case was a company that the Husband had acquired and operated for 10 years before the marriage. The Wife accepted that she should have a lower than 50% share of the total assets and the Husband accepted the Wife should have an equal share of the matrimonial assets.
3 December 2010
Are wives divorcing with children encouraged a clean break by courts?
A couple of weeks ago I was invited to speak at the annual family bar conference attended by 250 barristers, QCs and judges. One of the issues we discussed was the approach of the English courts on maintenance compared to other countries, including France.
10 November 2010
A Matter of Trust
It has been reported this weekend that the wife of a City trader is seeking a share of the £7.5 million which he transferred to Lichtenstein companies during the course of the marriage. Mr Goldstone and the companies maintain that the assets were legitimately transferred. Mrs Goldstone meanwhile alleges that, far from having transferred ownership in these assets, her husband still retains control of and a beneficial interest in them and she is therefore entitled to a share of those funds as part of her financial claim upon divorce.