No matter how old a lie, the truth will catch up

Posted 09/06/2015

The Supreme Court has had placed before it this week two cases which concern the truthfulness of the evidence given by one spouse in Divorce Financial Proceedings about the worth of their assets.

In both of this week’s cases the issue has been that a husband at the time the Financial Proceedings were decided had seriously and purposefully understated the value of his assets. In one case, later money laundering investigations disclosed assets at the time of the Divorce well in excess of the value then admitted to, and in the other the husband appeared to accept that the value he had put forward for shares in his business bore absolutely no relation to the real value.

The Court of Appeal has already refused to overturn the Orders/Agreements reached when the original settlements were decided, so it now falls to the Supreme Court to make its decision.

The sums involved are substantial, the sums already paid considerable, so the question is whether the husbands in these cases are able to defeat the claims of the ex-wives or whether they will, as the proverb goes, “never prosper”.

If the ex-wives succeed there may be another pay day for them including no doubt an amount claimed for the ex wives for the costs for having to bring these cases.  The decision is awaited – watch this space.