Family Solicitors

London has developed a reputation of being the global capital for “divorce tourism”. It has previously been reported by The Times that one sixth of all divorce cases, and around half of the ‘big money’ cases, heard by Family Courts in London involved international couples.

England and Wales is the favoured jurisdiction for divorcing couples where huge sums are involved and there is an uneven balance in earning power. There is no legal formula which determines the level of financial settlement when a marriage breaks down. One of the advantages of English divorce law is that a Judge has considerable discretion when deciding how a couple’s finances should be distributed upon divorce. The award is analysed on a case by case basis and this flexible approach means a fair outcome is reached to meet the needs of the parties and any children. The Court is renowned for being fair to a financially weaker spouse who has contributed to a marriage in ways that are not measured by capital amassed or annual income.

In English divorce cases it does not normally matter in whose name a property is registered. The Court has the power to transfer assets from one to the other and the recent Prest case confirmed that if a third party owns property on trust for one spouse, a transfer to the other can be ordered.

For many people the fact that both partners are required to make full disclosure of their assets is another definite advantage. In some countries such as Greece, there is no provision for financial disclosure, whilst in other countries such as Spain, the onus is on the applicant to establish the financial position of their spouse.

Since the landmark ruling of White v White in 2000, the English Court’s attitude has been that there should be no distinction drawn between the contributions made to the marriage by the two spouses, even where one spouse has earned most (if not all) of the money during that period. As a result, spouses who earn large amounts of money during their marriage can normally expect to share half their assets in the event of divorce.

The recent case of Gray v Work, heard in the Court of Appeal earlier this year is testament to this. Mr Work (American banker) and Ms Gray had been married for twenty years when divorce proceedings started. Mr Work’s appeal against paying Ms Gray half of his fortune was dismissed as the Court was not convinced that he had made an 'exceptional contribution' or generated the family’s money without the support of Ms Gray. The Court found that Ms Gray had supported her then husband in the creation of his wealth, by looking after the couple’s children, relocating to Japan and running the family home, and so was entitled to share in that wealth equally.

The Manchester United football player Ryan Giggs case, which is still in Court, is currently arguing that he be awarded more than half of the £40m fortune he shares with his wife, based on his “special contribution” to their marital millions. If Giggs succeeds, he will be in the elite club to have successfully convinced an English Court that his financial contribution to marriage should overrule the White v White’s “yardstick of equality”. It should be borne in mind that in recent months, two other multimillionaire husbands – Randy Work and Laura Ashley chairman Khoo Kay Peng – have failed to have their financial contributions recognised by the courts.

The first consideration before a court with an international case is establishing jurisdiction. Where the options are within the EU, this is often straightforward. Brussels II (revised) Regulation provides a checklist of the factors that will give a Member State’s Court jurisdiction to hear the divorce. If there are two Member States that are eligible, then it is a simple race to see who can file their application first in their country of choice. Any jurisdictional disputes which then arise usually turn on residency requirements and whether the applicant has actually been a habitual resident in their chosen country for the necessary period of.

Who knows what the wide-reaching implications of the UK leaving the EU will be on London being the ‘divorce capital’?

For the time being, the decisions are at the Judge’s discretion, coupled with the requirement for financial disclosure, and our great principle of equality means England is still dubbed the divorce capital of the world.

Genet Amare, the author, is a Solicitor in the Childcare and Family Department at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. Her caseload mainly consists of Public Law children matters working alongside panel solicitors and children’s guardians with cases involving multiple complex issues including domestic violence, drug and alcohol misuse, non-accidental injuries, physical and sexual abuse and mental health issues.

Duncan Lewis Family Solicitors

Headed by 18 Director Solicitors, and boasting over 40 Law Society Family & Childcare Panel Specialists, the Duncan Lewis Family & Childcare department are specialists in all aspects of family and private/public children law matters from offices across London and throughout the UK. Duncan Lewis is recognised by the independent legal directory, The Legal 500 as a leading family practice. We have also acquired a number of kite-marks which are testament to the quality of the specialised work our staff undertake. We were shortlisted by Jordan’s Family Law Awards 2015 for ‘Family Law Firm of the Year’.

If you have any family related queries or require representation please do not hesitate to contact our team of expert solicitors on 0333 772 0409.