A recent news
story caught my attention concerning an American couple - Jenifer and Mark Evans
– who split in 2010 following 25 years of marriage. Having started off penniless, they amassed a
£40 million fortune principally from their financial IT company.
Following
highly acrimonious proceedings in England, Mrs Evans was awarded just over £18
million (45% of the assets). The Court departed from sharing the assets equally
to reflect Mr Evans ‘post separation endeavour’ in the business.
The judge
criticised the couple saying their dispute had descended into ‘forensic point
scoring’ as they became entangled in a bitter battle.
Divorce is an
emotional process, where resentment and anger can sometimes cloud rational
decision making.
In the end,
the couple has paid a high price for their acrimonious divorce.
They have
racked up over £2 million in legal fees and the judge criticised them both for
the way they had handled the case and said they were ‘both to blame’ for their
‘unacceptable and disproportionate’ level of
legal costs. He also said that the offers each had put forward to
resolve the case were unrealistic.
It’s a
cautionary tale for feuding couples. Whilst
it is obviously important to achieve a fair outcome to your divorce and it is
imperative to get proper legal advice, if you can then achieve a negotiated settlement
with the help of your solicitor you could save a lot of money on legal costs
and avoid the uncertainty of having a decision imposed on you.
