In the recent case of Juffali v. Juffali, the Court considered whether the standard of living enjoyed by the Wife during the marriage, should be reflected in the assessment of her future needs.
Some brief facts:
- The Husband, an extremely wealthy Saudi National, was 61 years of age. The Wife, an American Citizen, was 54 years of age.
- The parties married in 2001 and subsequently separated in 2013.
- There was one child of the marriage, who was born in 2002.
- The Husband issued Divorce proceedings in Saudi Arabia (known as a talaq Divorce) in 2013.
- The Saudi Divorce became Absolute in December 2014 and was recognised in England and Wales.
Financial Provision under Divorce
The Wife was not entitled to any financial provision under the Divorce obtained in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the Wife applied to the Court in England and Wales for financial provision for herself and her daughter.
The Wife sought a significant proportion of the assets in order to reflect the very high standard of living enjoyed by the parties during the marriage. However, the Husband’s position was that the Wife should only receive a ‘package’ which met her reasonable needs.
When deciding which financial orders should be made, the Court considered all circumstances of the case, with the first consideration being the child of the marriage.
The Court’s Decision
The Court felt that in view of the length of the marriage and the Husband’s significant wealth, the Wife was entitled to secure a home for her and the parties’ daughter. However, it was not reasonable for the Wife to obtain a home of the same scale as the Husband’s home in London, or expect to continue spending money on private jets and teams of staff at her home.
The Court held that the Wife could not continue to have the lifestyle she led with the Husband following separation. It was felt that the Wife needed to create a life of her own.
Therefore, the Court awarded the Wife a lump sum of 18 million (rather than the 62.8 million she sought) to enable her to purchase a comfortable home in London. The Wife also received capitalised maintenance, as well as payments to meet the needs of the parties’ daughter.
Contact our Specialist Family Law Department
If you would like to receive assistance reaching an agreement with your spouse in respect of the finances, please contact our offices on 01323 727321 or info@hartreade.co.uk to arrange an appointment and we will be happy to discuss this with you.
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Please contact us to request a free initial consultation.
Please note the above is for information purposes only and is intended to be a short summary. It should not be treated as a comprehensive guide and should not be acted on without qualified legal advice.
