Law Chiefs Seek to End ‘Meal Ticket for Life’ Divorce Deals

Leading law academic and cross-bench peer Baroness Deech is backing calls from top lawyers and the Law Commission for reforms that would end “disproportionate” awards to some former spouses in divorce cases and make prenuptial contracts binding. Lady Deech’s call follows a number of recent high-profile cases in which former wives legally pursued their ex-husbands for maintenance support after separation.

Lady Deech said: “Our existing law urgently needs reform because of changes in society and families; judicial inconsistencies and excess of judicial discretion.”

Maintenance, she said, should be limited to five years unless there was exceptional hardship. “As long as we expect women to have dignity and go out to work, then it is not right to say: this man must keep you for the rest of your life.”

Her call comes as Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia, a prominent divorce lawyer, said that guidance was needed to bring consistency to maintenance awards in order to prohibit a “postcode lottery.” She said: “Some courts award maintenance for life, while on exactly the same circumstances others regard a cut-off as appropriate.”

Current law ‘undermines hardworking women’

Lady Deech has suggested that the current divorce law and treatment of divorce cases in court by judges undermined English law and the position of hardworking women.

She said:

“It is no credit to English law and damaging to the position of all women to find that the wives of foreign oligarchs are having their “needs” [such as £2m a year for travel, £100,000 for handbags], taken seriously by judges, while women who are supporting themselves in their jobs at the time of divorce are treated less generously than those who have given up work.”

High-profile divorce cases call current law into question

Recent high-profile divorce cases have precipitated these challenges to the current state of the legal system from Lady Deech and other prominent members of the legal sector. Model Christina Estrada sought £196.5m from her millionaire ex-husband, Walid Juffali, after their marriage collapsed in 2012, following his marriage to another woman while he was still married to Miss Estrada (something which is possible under Sharia law).

Miss Estrada sought millions from her ex-husband in order to pay for her expensive lifestyle, asking for £116,000 a year for handbags, £46,000 a year for Ascot and Wimbledon tickets and £1 m a year for clothing, including £40,000 for fur coats and £83,000 for evening wear.

London: divorce capital of the world

2017 also saw one of the largest divorce settlements ever agreed in a UK court, after the ex-wife of an oil and gas trader was awarded £453m. The case highlighted London’s status as the favoured location for successful divorce claims against exceedingly rich spouses – the so-called “divorce capital of the world.”

Concluding on his judgment on the divorce settlement of the unidentified couple, The Hon. Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said the couple had marital assets worth £1bn. The judge ruled that their wealth had been built up during the time they were married through “equal contributions to the welfare of the family, and should be subject to the sharing principle.” As such, he ruled that a sharing of assets approaching 50:50 was subsequently appropriate.

Commenting on the case, Lady Deech said that it was of little surprise that London had become the divorce capital of the world, when a wife could leave her marriage with over £500m for . . . “what, exactly?”

In response to Lady Deech’s criticism, Philip Marshall, chairman of the Family Law Bar Association, said her proposed reforms were “too prescriptive and could result in real unfairness.” Rather than more extensive reforms, he said that the Family Justice Council guidance on assessing financial needs would be issued and would be subject to regular revisions.

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