Division of assets
Division of assets based on need
In the case of BD v. FD, the Court was asked to consider the appropriate division of the assets.
The Wife applied for financial relief in April 2014.
The Wife confirmed her housing needs were £10.5 million (which included two homes) and sought for maintenance to be capitalised at £500,000.00 per year (which would provide her with £17 million).
The Wife’s claim also included a sum of £1.1 million for housing for her parents, as well as a lump sum to assist her pay for proceedings concerning the children.
However, the Husband proposed that the Wife received just over £8 million.
When determining the appropriate award for the Wife, the Court considered all the factors contained in Section 25.
The Court considered that the main factor which needed to be considered was the Wife’s needs based on the standard of living enjoyed by the parties.
The Court did not feel that the Wife in this case needed two properties.
The Court considered that the Wife required a property in the country, which was similar to the marital home and therefore assessed her housing needs at £3,600,000.00.
The Wife was provided with £500,000.00 to enable her to purchase furniture and undertake home improvements in her new home.
The Court considered the Wife’s annual income need was £175,000.00 and therefore awarded her a capitalised sum of £5,000,000.00. However, the sum of £300,000.00 was deducted due to the Husband’s successful argument.
Therefore, the overall sum Court awarded the Wife was £8,800,000.00.
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