Inheritance and parental wealth within divorce
Within divorce disputes an increasing number of cases focus upon parental financial support, family money and inheritance. In the case of Hayat Alireza v Hossam Radwan [2017] EWCA Civ 1545 the Court of Appeal confirmed that for now a wife's future inheritance prospects do not reduce her financial claims against her husband flowing from the marital breakdown. The Judges noted it would impact upon her personal autonomy making her reliant on either her husband or her father.
For those with family money seeking to give or provide for their children during inheritance planning the possibility of divorce must be considered. For this reason we have seen an increase in pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements as part of estate planning.
Whilst the family court respect the provenance of wealth; ensuring the financial needs of each spouse are met will always win when considering if pre-acquired or inherited wealth should be left out of the marital assets.
“In practice, the judge is placing on the wife’s father an obligation to ensure that the wife is provided for. There is no principle of law that a wife should become the responsibility of her birth family upon divorce.””