The wife’s solicitor proposed that only the amount of pension accrued during the marriage should be used in the settlement, however, I was able to assist my client using recent developments in case law regarding pensions. Recent case law stated that in a needs case, the full value of the pension should be taken into consideration and on this basis, I was able to negotiate a pension sharing order taking into consideration the whole pension pot. It was agreed that £410,855 would be transferred to the husband who at the same time will retain his pension. This lead to an equalisation of the pension pot and a very satisfied client.
The wife took on the debt of £600k and remained in the family home. The husband was therefore left debt free, enabling him to obtain a mortgage to by another property.
Given the disparity of income, spousal maintenance was considered for my client, but not pursued on the trade-off that the wife would not pursue child support. A separate contract was drafted in this regard as the court does not have jurisdiction to order that no child maintenance is payable.
This case was completed without a face to face meeting with my client, and is testimony to the convenience and ease of virtual and telephone appointments.