House of Lords Decide in Favour of Ex-Wives

Decisions have just been released regarding two high profile matrimonial cases.

In the case of Mr & Mrs Miller:

Mr & Mrs Miller’s marriage was short but there had been a long relationship before the marriage. Considerable assets had been accumulated during the period together and during the marriage itself. That accumulation would have to be shared fairly under the approach already used in these cases. The previous judge had referred to Mr Miller's adultery as a factor in the decision. The Law Lords have removed that element.


Janet Hopkins, Senior Partner at Lawson-West solicitors comments:

“Family lawyers have been trying for years to avoid raking over the behaviour of the parties when trying to find a fair solution in financial terms. The Law Lords have today supported that approach. This decision places the focus squarely on financial considerations.”


In the case of Mr & Mrs MacFarlane

Mrs MacFarlane is to receive maintenance from her husband of £250,000 per year for their joint lives. The decision recognises the fact that Mrs MacFarlane gave up a potentially high-earning career to marry Mr MacFarlane and bring up their family.

The award compensates her for the loss of her own earning power as well as
recognising her backing and support of Mr MacFarlane in developing his own career.

Maintenance is considered first from the point of view of the needs of the wife.
Then, where there is sufficient income in the hands of the husband, two other
elements can be considered - the wife's contribution to the development of the
husband's career, and compensation for the wife's loss in respect of her own career and earning power.

Janet comments:

“The decision will make it harder to achieve a clean break in these high-value cases, but the principle is fair in recognising the contribution that a home-making wife makes in her husband's earning power, as well as looking far more equally at what
she could have achieved in her career if she had not given it up to support him.

It must be noted that these decisions are not gender-specific. If the roles were reversed with a high-earning wife and a house-husband, these same arguments will be considered.”