A commonsense approach

In one divorce case the wife was determined to keep the house and other possessions worth a total of about £1,000,000, with the husband retaining about £300,000. The husband wanted an additional £175,000 but the wife refused. They wanted to fight it out in court.   

From our experience we knew that the court was likely to award the husband between £375,000 and £425,000. The costs of proceeding to a final hearing would have totalled about £50,000. Through careful negotiation the parties were persuaded to agree upon a figure of £400,000.  As a result they avoided a stressful court battle and both came out financially better off.

Fighting the 50-50 principle

After a long-term marriage the usual principle in a divorce settlement is an equal split of assets. One client who was divorcing after 19 years argued that he already had wealth when he married, and this should be taken into account in the divorce settlement.

We advised him to pursue his case in court, despite the expense. The case went to a final hearing where the judge ordered that he should receive 60 per cent of the assets in place of the usual 50 per cent. The costs were substantial but the result was more than justified.