A victory for common sense….and a cautionary tale!

A recent high profile case has brought to light the importance of having a financial clean break order as part of a divorce to avoid unwanted claims from an ex-spouse later down the line.

Dale Vince, a self-made millionaire, thanks to his green energy company Ecotricity, was recently taken to court by his ex-wife of 20 years who was seeking a capital sum and lifelong maintenance, despite the fact Mr Vince made his fortune many years after the couple divorced.

The couple married in 1981, when both were receiving state benefits.  They had a son together and the wife had a daughter from a previous relationship.  They then separated in 1984 and their divorce was finalised in 1992.  Both moved on to other partners who they had children with, Mr Vince having married his new partner in 2006.

 

Mr Vince’s company was launched in 1995 and is now estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List to be worth £90m.

The wife brought a claim for financial remedy against Mr Vince in May 2011, 18 years after they divorced.  Despite her delay in bringing the claim and the lack of any marital assets at the time of the separation the High Court ordered in December 2012 that Ms Wyatt’s claim could proceed to trial.  It also ordered that Mr Vince fund her legal costs of £125,000 to bring the claim.  But in May 2013 the Court of Appeal reversed that decision, struck out Ms Wyatt’s claim and reversed the order for payment of Ms Wyatt’s legal costs.

Two things really strike me about this case:

1. The court should not allow people to be harassed by claims for financial relief that were issued many years after the divorce and had no real prospect of success.
2. There needs to be a clear and accurate financial order at the time of divorce proceedings.  A court order to be dealt with during the divorce process, which records the way in which any marital assets are to be divided between the parties and, more importantly, the dealing of future financial claims would have avoided the costs of the court proceedings.

Thankfully, common sense prevailed in the end and the wife was criticised by the judge for bringing the case to court, but it shows that this kind of action can happen, so people do need to protect themselves from future claims during their divorce. A millionaire lifestyle may be in your future….make sure you protect it!

Kerry Russell  

There's no such thing as a 'quickie divorce'

Myleene Klass is the latest in a long line of celebrities reported to have completed a ‘quickie divorce’ by the press, with media quoting that it took just 100 seconds for a judge to end her marriage to former partner Graham Quinn.

While the media loves these stories, the reality is that there is no such thing as a ‘quickie divorce’.  So although Miss Klass’ marriage was officially ended in 100 seconds last week, it will have been months in the making.

Whether you’re a multi-millionaire celebrity or your average Joe the process of getting a divorce in England and Wales is exactly the same: 

The person seeking a divorce (the Petitioner) must prove that their marriage has ‘broken down irretrievably’. This can be done by providing proof of one of the following: adultery, unreasonable behaviour, two years’ desertion, two years’ separation with consent or five years’ separation.

For any of the above reasons, the Petitioner will need to provide examples to the court.

Once the divorce request, known as the Petition, is lodged with the Court the other spouse, known as the respondent, receives a copy of it from the court and is given seven days to contest or agree to the divorce.

Following this, the Petitioner can apply for the first stage of the divorce process – the decree nisi, which usually takes a couple of months, depending on the court. 

A judge will then pronounce it in court alongside a number of other cases – this is the part the media picks up on.  Then there will be a further wait of six weeks and one day before applying for the decree absolute.  Once this has been pronounced they are legally divorced and both parties will be issued with a certificate.

Finalising finances

It’s worth pointing out that the above process doesn’t include dividing a couple’s assets, which is often the more complicated and time consuming element of a divorce.  This is why the skills of a specialist family lawyer are most needed in order to complete the divorce successfully and protect their client’s assets.

The ‘quickie divorce’ simply doesn’t exist, but a great family lawyer will complete their client’s divorce efficiently, while always protecting their best interests.

Kerry Russell