In a landmark decision this week the Supreme Court has allowed the appeals of two wives, Alison Sharland and Varsha Gohil.
The position of both women was that their husbands had been dishonest by failing to disclose their true worth and it is now highly likely both the husbands will end up paying far more than was originally agreed.
In the case of Mrs Sharland, she accepted £10 million in her divorce and 30% of proceeds of shares held by her husband in his company. It was found that he had lied about the value of his company. The value originally attributed to the business was £47 million but it was later estimated as being worth in the region of £600 million.
In the second case, Varsha Gohil accepted a payment of £270,000 from her husband and a car. The husband, a solicitor who is now convicted of money laundering and jailed for ten years, was later said to be worth £35 million.
The Sharland case was settled in 2010 and the Gohil case in 2002. This decision from the Supreme Court is a landmark decision as both wives have been able to re-open their cases and the cases will now return to the High Court for determination.
The court made it clear that dishonesty will not be tolerated. Parties have an ongoing duty to provide full and frank disclosure.
What does this mean for current divorce case?
So will this mean that anyone can now re-open a divorce case? The law for family matters is constantly changing and being updated as new more complicated cases appear. What we do know is that you can’t hide when it comes to divorce. As with this case the courts will thoroughly investigate how much you and your assets are worth.
For more information on divorce or any other Family Law matters, please contact our Family Law team on 0161 475 7676.
