Division of assets following divorce

It is well established that Dependants, when a surviving spouse is proposing to claim provision out of a deceased’s estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents Act 1975) the provision that would have been made in divorce proceedings will be an important factor. The orders made by divorce Courts are, therefore, of some interest. In most cases, the divorce Courts are faced with the difficulty of getting a quart out of a pint-pot trying to make adequate provisions for the support of two persons out of funds which are clearly insufficient for this purpose. However, occasionally the Courts have to adjudicate in cases where one of the parties, at least, may be regarded “super rich”, with more than enough resources to provide for both parties. The Courts have been moving towards a 50/50 approach in these cases, as illustrated by the Court of Appeal decision in Lambert v Lambert 2002 EWCA Civ 1685.

The case concerned family capital amounting to over £20m.The marriage had lasted for 23 years.There were two children of the family, who had reached full age and were independently wealthy as a result of trusts made by their parents. The family wealth was derived from the sale of shares in a company, from which the husband received over £19,700,000. the wife received £500,000. The wife appealed against a order of the judges at first instance, in which be avoided to wife sufficient to give her some 37% of the total, joint capital.