Latest updates
- The former wife's defence to claims for possession of the matrimonial home, and for weekly use and occupation payments of £5000, had referred to the terms of the financial remedy consent order, which in her view permitted her to occupy the property until it was sold. The county court judge had rejected her interpretation of the order. Fancourt J allowed her appeal, deciding that the correspondence on which the former husband had relied in the county court was not admissible as evidence of the meaning of the consent order. The county court judge erred in interpreting the order and the reasons he gave for reaching the conclusion that the appellant was a gratuitous licensee were mistaken. Judgment, 11/12/2019, free
- The trustees had failed to give disclosure as ordered in Akhmedova v Akhmedov & Ors [2019] EWHC 2561 (Fam). The freezing and disclosure orders made then had subsequently been upheld by the Liechtenstein Constitutional Court, and a criminal investigation was taking place in that country with regard to fraudulent bankruptcy, money laundering and thwarting enforcement. Knowles J held that the reasons for granting the freezing orders had been reinforced by subsequent events, and so they would remain in effect. Judgment, 22/10/2019, free
- The husband had been ordered to pay the wife £453,576,152 and so far had not paid a penny voluntarily. Enforcement had only been possible in respect of a much smaller amount. This without notice application sought orders against two Liechtenstein trustees used by the husband to evade enforcement. Knowles J granted a freezing injunction and made an order for asset disclosure. The de jure directors of the trustees would be named in the penal notice. Judgment, 22/10/2019, free
- The district judge had found that the husband was the beneficial owner of a Panamanian property, held by a company of which his mother owned all the shares. King LJ found that there had been no procedural irregularity in that finding, and it was not contaminated by an avoidance of disposition order that had also, erroneously, been made. Moylan LJ and Leggatt LJ agreed, with the latter also observing that judges should be careful, when given alternative bases for their decisions, not to introduce confusion into what would otherwise be straightforward factual findings. Judgment, 11/10/2019, free
- The husband appealed from a financial remedy order, arguing that it contained neither a sufficient evaluation of his undisclosed financial resources nor a sufficient explanation for the award of a £1.4 million lump sum. Moylan LJ noted that the absence of a structured s 25 analysis in the judgment below, or of an exposition of how the award was calculated, had provided scope for the appeal. He did not accept, however, that a judge is required to provide a figure or bracket in every case when confronted by non-disclosure. In this case, the judge's determination of the husband's resources had been sufficient, and the award was based on a sound assessment of the wife's needs. King LJ and Rose LJ agreed and the appeal was dismissed. Judgment, 30/08/2019, free
Latest know-how
- In a tweet: Consideration of “substantial” in leave for Part II MFPA 1984 proceedings. Case note, 18/10/2019, members only
- The husband unsuccessfully appealed an order to transfer the legal title in 42 properties into his sole name (and release the wife from the associated mortgages). Case note, 16/10/2019, members only
- The judge had been asked by the wife to reconsider his conclusions on the grounds that there was a significant and material omission in the figures. Case note, 02/10/2019, members only
- A case summary of Vasilyeva v Shemyakin [2019] EWHC 932 (Fam), by a Pupil at 1 Hare Court. Case note, 10/05/2019, members only
- The court ruled that an earning capacity was not capable of being a matrimonial asset to which the sharing principle applies Case note, 15/05/2018, members only
Latest training
- Recording of webinar broadcast on 7th February 2019 Webcast, 11/02/2019, members only
- Mena Ruparel and Mark Penston unpick the complex task of understanding the different types of remuneration that might crop up in financial remedy proceedings. Webcast, 19/04/2018, members only
- Joe Switalski, of 29 Bedford Row, reviews the current case law and judicial thinking surrounding 'short marriages' in financial remedy proceedings. Recorded 19 March 2018. Webcast, 21/03/2018, members only
- Alexis Campbell QC and Charlotte Trace, of 29 Bedford Row, review the key financial remedy cases and themes from the past 12 months and look at how they will affect judicial thinking and your own cases in the year to come. Webcast, 16/03/2018, members only
- Nigel Shepherd from Mills & Reeve looks at the latest thinking on matrimonial v non-matrimonial assets. He also looks ahead to the possible impact of the Law Commission proposals due for release by the end of the year. Webcast, 01/10/2013, registration required