Big Money Divorce Cases

“Senior Judge Likens Wealthy Couple To Squabbling Children”- This was the headline to an article in last month’s Telegraph, reporting on the much publicised breakdown in the marriage of Mr and Mrs Evans – a couple whose assets were valued at over £50 million.

Mr Justice Thorpe stated that the case was almost ‘puerile’ and that someone needed to ‘come into the nursery’ and sort out their ‘nonsense’ – harsh words.

The couple in question were penniless when they married in 1985 and since this time, Mr Evans’ entrepreneurial flair brought in huge success. The family lived a luxurious, opulent lifestyle in the latter part of their marriage – all due to the new wealth that had been brought in.

Mrs Evans was awarded assets of £26 million, but her representatives have appealed this ruling and the parties are still waiting for another hearing to divide their wealth.

It may all seem like childish tantrums to some, but we at Bains Cohen appreciate the concerns that arise when divorce takes place in couples of wealth.  Often such wealth and assets are accumulated during the marriage alone and often, by one of the parties.  To simply give up such huge sums of money may not appear just or reflective of one’s hours of stress and turmoil during the marriage, especially if the breakup of the marriage is not your fault either.  In other cases, parties come in to the marriage with significant assets which need to be protected.

Bains Cohen London Family Solicitors have represented many high net worth clients and entrepreneurs and we have ensured that at each stage, their financial position was protected and looked after.

“Playing in the nursery” is something we do not do, but putting up a battle and preparing a strategic war is what we are experts at.  Divorce is not an easy experience to go through and to pretend otherwise would be a lie.  But with Bains Cohen you place yourself in the care of solicitors with technical know-how and a savvy, innovative approach.  Come and speak to us and see for yourself.

Rupinder Bains

Managing Partner

BAINS COHEN LLP

Saving Your Assets

It seemed like a mission impossible but Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have reached a financial settlement in their divorce case less than two weeks after Holmes filed for divorce, in a New York Court.   Rumours have it that a prenuptial agreement had been entered in to by the parties which resulted in the ‘quickie settlement’.

How likely is it that this could happen in the UK?

Of course, the extent of a couple’s matrimonial assets will differ from one marriage to the next, and most of us do not have the luxury of Cruise’s $180 million in the bank to consider how best to protect its future. What is certain however, regardless of the amount of wealth that you are holding, with the right legal advice, and with the right strategies in place, you could protect your wealth as much as possible.  In this article I will focus on protecting yourself financially before divorce: in fact, before you even enter in to matrimony.

Prenuptial agreements are the only real way in which to safeguard your interests but until very recently, they were not given any weight in the English Courts. Last year, in a landmark case [Radmacher v Grantino], the Court of Appeal reversed the earlier decision of the High Court to disregard the parties’ prenup - instead holding them to it.  The parties were both foreign nationals, the wife German and the husband French, who had signed a prenup valid under German law but then divorced in England.  At the first ruling the High Court awarded the husband £5.6m even though the prenup had stated that neither party would seek maintenance from the other in the event of divorce.  The Court of Appeal allowed the wife’s appeal.

On appeal the court stressed that prenups are not automatically binding under English law and that the case turned on its specific facts.  Heavy emphasis was placed on the fact that both parties were foreign nationals from jurisdictions where such agreements are binding and the court ultimately upheld the prenup.

This ruling has created a huge shift in family proceedings.  But, and I cannot stress this enough, the ruling does not mean that the English Courts will simply accept the terms of any pre-nup as a binding document.  There are a whole array of factors and hurdles that you have to comply with in order for your prenup to even get a look in.  Independent legal advice for both parties, full disclosure of assets, consideration of any children (now and in the future) are just some of the factors that need to be thought about and complied with.

Sounds complicated – but it doesn’t have to be.  At Bains Cohen, we have all the expertise in place to ensure your prenuptial agreement will be relied upon at Court should the unfortunate situation of divorce arise.  Sorting out your financial affairs before marriage may sound clinical and rather loveless – but the prenup is no stranger overseas and it will be seen more and more in our English Courts.  Protecting your assets before your marriage could save you thousands of pounds in litigation and more importantly your bank account! If I tell you that the English Court’s starting point for consideration of matrimonial assets on divorce is an equal division: 50- 50, I am sure the idea of prenups is becoming ever more appealing.

Let me put it in to perspective: Where an individual owns substantial assets, is likely to receive an inheritance, has significantly larger amount of assets than the spouse-to-be and/or the spouse has substantial debt or where you are not sure about your partner’s motives, pre-nuptial agreements are the only way of protecting your future financial position in the event of a breakdown in your  marriage. 

Look at it another way: if you are  an entrepreneur, if you own a business or if you are a high flyer in your field of expertise:  likely to achieve great success in your business or career, do you really want to risk half of everything being given to your spouse on divorce?

We understand that nothing kills a romantic candle lit dinner than saying  “honey, I want a prenup” however protecting yourself and your future is paramount even if that means having a discussion with your partner on the benefits of a prenup for both parties. Of course no one wants their marriage to end or goes into their marriage thinking it might come to an end in the future, but with divorce rates back on the increase, a little planning at the right time is never a bad thing.

As far as the Holmes and Cruise settlement agreement is concerned, it is likely to include a bullet proof confidentiality clause which means that we will never know any of the details of the settlement and by doing so, both parties’ reputations remain intact and particularly, Cruises’ future earning capacity in the film industry should remain unaffected.

So, if you are thinking about saying ‘I do’, as part of your wedding preparations, just step back and think about the future as well.  Are you the “highflyer” in the marriage, are you coming into your marriage with a significant amount of assets? Then you might want to think about how to have “that” conversation with your partner. You would be well-advised to come and speak to one of our experts as soon as possible about entering into a prenuptial agreement or, if you have already entered in to a prenuptial agreement and want to know whether it will be valid and binding on divorce, we can help with that too.

Rupinder Bains

Partner

Bains Cohen LLP