The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in Standish v Standish [2024] EWCA Civ 567, finding in favour of the husband, as the judge’s application of the sharing principle was flawed and has resulted in an unjustified division of the family’s wealth in the wife’s favour, and thus the husband’s appeal must be allowed.

Partner Bryan Jones commented: “This recent decision by the Court of Appeal means that there is now greater clarity about how the court should treat assets which one party brought to the marriage. This is a complex issue and the delay in the Court of Appeal producing their judgment may be the result of a stand-off between the judges as to the correct decision.

“Whilst the facts of this particular case are unique, this decision means that going forward spouses who bring wealth to the marriage can feel confident that this should not be divided equally by the court even if those resources have been used by the family during the marriage. Whilst anyone with financial means should consider a pre-nuptial agreement, this decision should provide relief for those already married who did not enter into one.”

Read Bryan’s comments published in Bloomberg UK, here.