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Mills-McCartney judgment reveals all

Mills/McCartney The judgment in McCartney makes fascinating reading. For the family lawyers there is useful guidance as to how to approach cases of great wealth acquired before a relatively short marriage. For the tabloids there is plenty of detail about the marriage and its breakdown and the way in which Lady McCartney conducted herself in the course of the proceedings which will make fabulous copy. While the judge clearly tried to be fair and even handed, Lady McCartney comes out of this very badly indeed. For those of us involved in divorce work, the judge has made it clear that it is inappropriate to approach cases like this on the basis of sharing of family assets, which is the usual approach in most cases today. Instead he said that he would look at the Wife's needs, albeit generously interpreted. However, in assessing the Wife's needs he found that she had exaggerated her claims to such an extent that it was impossible to work out what she really needed and therefore he had pruned her budget dramatically. In principle this decision is good news for wealthy husbands, but given the truly exceptional nature of the case and the sums involved it remains to be seen to what extent the courts will follow this precedent in the more usual cases which come before them on a daily basis.

18-Mar-2008

3:25 pm