Possible Unequal Division Of Property And Assets In Some Circumstances

Posted by Richard Payne on March 28th, 2016

When marriage hits a rough patch, people sometimes have a hard time handling the stress and trauma. The problems become even worse when there are property and assets involved. According to CurryPopeck Solicitors, the division of assets can be the subject of a great deal of argument and often depends on individual circumstances as there are very few hard and fast rules in deciding who gets what in the divorce. As a general rule, the court will look at dividing the property and assets equally between the divorcing couples, but if this is unequal there has to be a good reason.

Unequal division of assets is possible in some circumstances; for example, in a recent case the court awarded 70 per cent of an ex couple’s capital assets to the wife as she was earning less and had a child to look after.

The husband argued that because of this decision, he had to work more than 40 hours a week in order to meet his commitments to his wife and to earn adequate money for himself. He argued that increased work hours would affect his level of contact with their three-year-old daughter.

The husband had been ordered to pay his ex-wife £1,070 in monthly maintenance and the wife received major share of the couple’s assets amassed during the couple’s 10 years marriage, including a portfolio of five residential properties that were heavily mortgaged. The husband argued that this left him with only £1,430 per month to live on, which was insufficient to meet his needs.

However, the court justified the unequal division of capital assets by saying that the husband had earned a salary of £75,000 a year before cutting down on his hours to spend more time with his daughter and that the flat where he lived was affordable and adequate for his needs.

On the other hand, the wife, who had the responsibility of looking after the couple’s daughter, earned much less, had debts and needed £250,000 to buy a suitable home of her own, while her meagre income would allow her to raise only a £100,000 mortgage. The court also found out that working extra hours would not impede the father’s contact with his daughter. Thus, the Court of Appeal upheld the judge’s decision.

“Avery crucial consideration in the division of assets during divorce cases is the needs of the dependent children, which was taken into account while dividing the marital assets in this case”, state CurryPopeck.

Please contact CurryPopeck Solicitors if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of family law. Curry Popeck solicitors specialize in Corporate Law, Family Law, Employment Law, Dispute Resolution, Property Law and Sports and Entertainment Law. Their team of highly experienced solicitors, led by Philip Popeck and Lionel Curry provides tailored solutions on all the above legal issues and will be very happy to help.

To schedule an appointment or to speak to one of their experts, visit-http://www.currypopeck.com/