20-05-2025
Supreme Court case may be a shock for wealthy spouses
Last month Supreme Court judges heard the final throw of the dice for a wife as she bid for a share of wealth accumulated by her former banker husband before they married in 2005.
In Standish v Standish in the family division of the High Court in 2022, Mr Justice Moor decided that the banker's pre-marital assets had become part of the matrimonial asset pool during the marriage. In overturning that decision, the Court of Appeal reduced the wife's award by 45 per cent.
The wife took the battle to the UK's top court, where the central issue is whether a husband's pre-marital assets should be deemed matrimonial, and subject to equal division.
The principle of sharing matrimonial assets invariably serves as the starting point
