Separated wife’s financial claim on ex’s £175,000 payout for child abuse

A separated wife has made a financial claim to the court stating the compensation that her husband received for sexual abuse he suffered as a child should be taken into account by them when dividing the financial assets on divorce.

However the husband is arguing that this money should not be taken into account as this money was never used for the family and in fact it was invested by his lawyers on his behalf as he did not want anything to do with what he referred to as "dirty money". In fact, the husband has stated that this money has been placed in a trust and will be left to a charity upon his death as he wants no benefit from it.

The courts, when looking at these cases, should have regard to the financial resources that the parties to the marriage have now or may have in the foreseeable future. The husband can argue that this money is not a matrimonial asset as it effectively was not built up during the marriage, but due to historic events, and the wife has not contributed in any way to this asset. However if the wife can prove that a share of this is needed by her, then the courts could find in her favour. A lot will depend on the terms of the trust and whether that can be varied.

This is certainly an interesting case to follow.