Divorce: Law firm reports increase in behaviour accusations

Published: 23rd June 2009

A leading law firm is warning couples not to descend into acrimonious and costly legal disputes.

Tina Dunn, a partner in Mace & Jones legal 500 top tier rated family team, said she is seeing an increase in the number of couples who are of the view that their partner's behaviour should be taken into account when dividing up the family assets. She attributes this increase in enquiries to a recently publicised case where upon hearing that a grandfather had abused his grandchildren, the court took the view that he should not be entitled to receive any financial settlement on his divorce.

Mrs Dunn said separation and divorce can be one of the most stressful times in a person's life. It is therefore inevitable that in some cases there is a level of acrimony between the parties which may be as a result of a variety of factors. This may especially be the case if parties are forced to live together for longer than they would have wished because they are unable to sell their house due to the current market conditions.

Typically, a person may feel that if one party has committed adultery they should leave the matrimonial home to the "innocent" party. However, the conduct of either party to the marriage will generally not have a bearing on how the assets are divided or who may remain in the matrimonial home.

Mrs Dunn said that "although the reasons why a marriage breaks down are of course extremely important to the individuals concerned, and emotional issues may be at the forefront of their minds, only the most extreme cases of bad behaviour will be taken into account when the court determines what a financial settlement will be."

Therefore although conduct may be relevant in extreme cases, in most cases it will not be and seeking to rely on it will only serve to increase an already high level of tension and potentially make reaching a settlement even more difficult.

"Our aim is to achieve the best possible outcome whilst ensuring that legal fees do not escalate" she said. "A balance therefore needs to be reached in weighing up the possible advantages of seeking to argue that a person's conduct should be taken into account set against the increase in legal fees and the increased acrimony."

Mrs Dunn said that the factors the court will take into account include the length of the marriage, the age of the couple and their children, earning capacity and financial needs. "In cases where children are involved, it becomes more important than ever to try and reduce tension between couples. The best way of achieving this is to reach a financial settlement as swiftly and as fairly as possible, and to set a realistic valuation on the family home."

Divorcing couples wanting further advice should contact tina.dunn@maceandjones.co.uk or any member of the Mace & Jones family team team in Liverpool: 0151 236 8989 Manchester: 0161 214 0500 Knutsford: 01565 634 234