UK's Biggest Divorce Settlement - what could you be entitled to?

The UK Family Court recently ruled on what is said to be the biggest divorce case in British history. Princess Haya was awarded a sum of just over £550 million in her divorce from Sheikh Mohammed, the prime minister of the UAE. 

Princess Haya was awarded a staggering £251 million lump sum settlement to pay for her ongoing security costs, holidays, salaries and accommodation for both a nurse and a nanny, armoured vehicles for the family and the cost of caring for various pets. 

Princess Haya was also awarded a further £290 million by way of maintenance for the two children. 

The Judge in the case had an exceptional task at hand to reach an agreement taking into account the exceptional wealth and high standard of living enjoyed by the parties and their children during the marriage. 

Although this case is entirely out of the ordinary given the level of wealth and extreme circumstances involved, the family law principles which underpin the judgement remain the same. 

The starting point for the court will be the equal division of assets as laid out in the well-renowned cases of White v White, Miller v Miller and McFarlane v McFarlane. The Court will then depart from the equal division of assets in order to ensure both parties' needs, as well as the needs of any minor children, are met. 

The court will take into account the following factors when determining the division of assets:

• Income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources
• Each parties financial needs, obligations and responsibilities 
• The standard of living enjoyed during the marriage
• The age of each party and duration of the marriage
• Any physical or mental disability of either party
• The contributions each party has made or is likely to make in the foreseeable future
• The conduct of each party

In a nutshell, married couples have several financial claims against one another on divorce for capital (i.e. property and savings), maintenance (includes both child maintenance and spousal maintenance) and pensions. 

The court has a very wide discretion when it comes to sorting out the financial matters arising from a divorce. This is because the assets and financial resources of each family are very different. 

As you can see from the case with Princess Haya, the court has interpreted the list of factors to take into account her need for security and the wealthy standard of living enjoyed during the marriage. This is why there is no set formula for family law cases. No case is the same so it is important to seek legal advice from a specialist family lawyer at the outset.

It is important these financial claims are resolved at the same time as the divorce process rather than being left vulnerable to a claim in the future. Many couples incorrectly assume that once the Decree Absolute has been granted in their divorce, all financial ties are cut. 

This is not the case. 

Your right to make a financial claim against your spouse and vice versa, their right to make a financial claim against you, continues in existence until those claims are formally dismissed in a sealed Order approved by the court. This is why it is important to obtain specialist legal advice from a family lawyer when you are in or contemplating the divorce process. There is more to a divorce than the online application, read further information here.

If you require advice in relation to the divorce process or the financial matters involved, why not give one of our specialist family solicitors a call? We offer a free 15 minute telephone consultation and have the ability to offer appointments both virtually and face-to-face. 

I am based in our Colchester office and can be contacted on katherine.parker@birkettlong.co.uk or 0330 818 3071.