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Getting additional money from ex years after you divorced.


buctootim
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I hesitated about posting this up because of some the posts on the sexism and racism threads - but its an important issue imo.

 

The Supreme Court have ruled that ex spouses can claim for a slice of their former partners waelth even if it was earned years after they split up. I understand the ruling that stay at home partners should share in wealth earned by spouses during the marriage and also that children should benefit - but why the fu ck should someone who divorced 20 years ago be entitled to a share of money their ex has subsequently earned through skill and graft with no input from them? Total injustice imo (and yes I have a lazy grasping ex who thinks I should pay for her four holidays a year). I had thought things were changing with a judge telling an ex spouse in February to 'get a job'. I guess not. This will just speed the gradual decline of marriage imo.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-22450272

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-31832392

Edited by buctootim
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I do not agree with this either. I have had problems with my ex. She remarried someone who eaens over £150,000 a year and still came after me for CSA payments even though I used to spend a fortune on the kids. Once the divorce settlement is done that should be it. You have to draw a line somewhere. If there are no children involved I can see no reason why the ex wife should not support herself.

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In many instances it is probably true that the wealth was only created because of the divorce. This is total lunacy in my opinion.

 

 

I know not all cases are as clear cut, but this one is ridiculous. They were married for three years when he was 20 and they lived on benefits. They split up 30 years ago and she divorced him 20 years ago. The money was only made after divorce. Bizarre.

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I do not agree with this either. I have had problems with my ex. She remarried someone who eaens over £150,000 a year and still came after me for CSA payments even though I used to spend a fortune on the kids. Once the divorce settlement is done that should be it. You have to draw a line somewhere. If there are no children involved I can see no reason why the ex wife should not support herself.

 

Im in a similar position.

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I think the case was brought to establish a principle (as is often the case isn't it SOG?) - the principle being that there should be no limit to the time a claim can be made.

 

Sometimes people say 'Whoah that's crazy' but case law has to be established and tested.

 

I think, from reading the reports, she bore all the responsibility for raising their child and is seeking to reclaim some of that in monetary terms. The judge has said that it's unlikely she'll get close to the £1m she's claiming.

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I think the case was brought to establish a principle (as is often the case isn't it SOG?) - the principle being that there should be no limit to the time a claim can be made.

 

Sometimes people say 'Whoah that's crazy' but case law has to be established and tested.

 

I think, from reading the reports, she bore all the responsibility for raising their child and is seeking to reclaim some of that in monetary terms. The judge has said that it's unlikely she'll get close to the £1m she's claiming.

 

Their son was born in 1981 and he didnt start his business until 1995.

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If you actually read it it doesn't seem that ridiculous. He is saying she has a right to claim for the years she brought up her son on her own and that she won't be getting anything close to the money she was claiming for. Seems reasonable imo.

 

But they were both poor when the child was growing up. The whole principle of retrospective action is wrong imo. Should the state claim back benefits / tuition fees / costs of healthcare / education etc from people who later get rich or win the lottery?

Edited by buctootim
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Marriage is a risk just like anything else.

 

I wouldn't be happy if I was in this bloke's shoes, but I've seen women have to raise kids on their own. It's not easy. No-one else to share the various burdens with, and it could be argued that many of the hardships she faced are a consequence of the breakdown of the relationship. Having raised my own kids in a two parent family, ms pap and I have had everything easier compared to a single parent.

 

This won't destroy marriage, but I do reckon it'll provide more work for lawyers as people seek exemption from future financial claims as part of divorce settlements.

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I suppose the idea is that quite often in a marriage, one partner puts their career and/or education on hold and stays home by mutual agreement, or gets a lower paid job with more flexible and forgiving hours, while the other pursues their professional ambitions and makes far more money. Then it can be seen as unfair that only one of them suffers for this agreement when they split up and one has spent years progressing and increasing their earning potential and the other will be at an age where they have little chance of ever reaching the earning potential they would have had. That could still have an effect many years later, somebody starting a career path in their mid thirties is often not going to reach the heights they would have done starting out in their mid twenties. The partner not working professionally will have been doing something of value to both partners (raising kids, improving the home, being a ready and willing sex object, I don't know) and they would both have entered into that agreement mutually.

 

I'm not expressing my own opinion about what's right or wrong, just thinking about the reasoning.

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But they were both poor when the child was growing up. The whole principle of retrospective action is wrong imo. Should the state claim back benefits / tuition fees / costs of healthcare / education etc from people who later get rich or win the lottery?

 

To be honest you would think a bloke with millions would offer to pay some back for the cost of his child. I know I would in that situation. 1.9 million is excessive though clearly.

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To be honest you would think a bloke with millions would offer to pay some back for the cost of his child. I know I would in that situation. 1.9 million is excessive though clearly.

 

Well, you wonder how "general" the problem is going to be.

 

Is this something that's only going to affect millionaires and/or people with hugely acrimonious relationships with their ex?

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So what happens if he won £20m on the lottery 15 years after the divorce - could she then claim more money

 

Shouldnt this work the other way - the woman lands on her feet and gets a high paid job, has a successful business, marries a rich bloke etc - should the man get a rebate on money that he has already paid over

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I suppose the idea is that quite often in a marriage, one partner puts their career and/or education on hold and stays home by mutual agreement, or gets a lower paid job with more flexible and forgiving hours, while the other pursues their professional ambitions and makes far more money. Then it can be seen as unfair that only one of them suffers for this agreement when they split up and one has spent years progressing and increasing their earning potential and the other will be at an age where they have little chance of ever reaching the earning potential they would have had. That could still have an effect many years later, somebody starting a career path in their mid thirties is often not going to reach the heights they would have done starting out in their mid twenties. The partner not working professionally will have been doing something of value to both partners (raising kids, improving the home, being a ready and willing sex object, I don't know) and they would both have entered into that agreement mutually.

 

I dont disagree with that - but I think thats a different situation to this one. Neither had money when the child was growing up and had no track record of earning any - so its hard to claim the mother was disadvantaged. The father's business didnt start until the son was 14 and likely didnt make much money until he was 18 at least. Where is the loss for the mother that would justify a claim?

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I dont disagree with that - but I think thats a different situation to this one. Neither had money when the child was growing up and had no track record of earning any - so its hard to claim the mother was disadvantaged. The father's business didnt start until the son was 14 and likely didnt make much money until he was 18 at least. Where is the loss for the mother that would justify a claim?

 

It's all hypothetical. I suppose the best way to answer that question is how much stuff have you had to do because you're a single parent, and how much has that stopped you from achieving?

 

I've sacrificed stuff for my kids as part of a dual parent family.

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I dont disagree with that - but I think thats a different situation to this one. Neither had money when the child was growing up and had no track record of earning any - so its hard to claim the mother was disadvantaged. The father's business didnt start until the son was 14 and likely didnt make much money until he was 18 at least. Where is the loss for the mother that would justify a claim?

 

Pretty much impossible to say without more details than I've seen. If their living situation tied her to the home and their child and if she had custody that also limited her ability to progress her professional life for years after the marriage, while his role left him more free to develop the skills and connections that would later be invaluable in making him rich, then I can see a connection. It says she raised her son through "sixteen years of real hardship". That would definitely make it hard for her get into the same earning position as their situation left him in. He would have been left free to pursue his ambitions, while she did a huge amount of work on both of their behalves with no financial reward. He has at least partly made his fortune using freedom that she gave him by taking care of the child the made together.

 

Again, I'm playing devil's advocate because it seems on this thread that it's needed. I'm not strongly opinionated here.

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Sounds like it would be easy enough to stop (from the Beeb article)

 

The judgment is also a timely reminder that divorcing couples who want protection from such claims, even if they have no money at all, should obtain an order from the court at the time of the divorce, in which they both agree that there will be no further financial claims.

 

Of course if you have a vindictive ex she/he might refuse on the off chance you get rich later.

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Pretty much impossible to say without more details than I've seen. If their living situation tied her to the home and their child and if she had custody that also limited her ability to progress her professional life for years after the marriage, while his role left him more free to develop the skills and connections that would later be invaluable in making him rich, then I can see a connection. It says she raised her son through "sixteen years of real hardship". That would definitely make it hard for her get into the same earning position as their situation left him in. He would have been left free to pursue his ambitions, while she did a huge amount of work on both of their behalves with no financial reward. He has at least partly made his fortune using freedom that she gave him by taking care of the child the made together.

 

Again, I'm playing devil's advocate because it seems on this thread that it's needed. I'm not strongly opinionated here.

 

As with all these things you have to judge on case by case basis, but on that description, there's something to be said for that.

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part of the terms of my divorce was that they will be no future claims from either side for anything anywhere.

 

The only thing she is likely to get from me in the future is a bullet.

 

Damn shame what happened to you and Teela.

 

Do you still keep in contact with Man-at-Arms?

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This is not a landmark case.

 

If claims are not cut off by a "clean break" order then both spouses are exposed to claims.

 

The judge must to look at spouses resources, and their needs, at the time that he/she determines the case. If there's a need and the hubby can pay then he's exposed.

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This is not a landmark case.

 

If claims are not cut off by a "clean break" order then both spouses are exposed to claims.

 

The judge must to look at spouses resources, and their needs, at the time that he/she determines the case. If there's a need and the hubby can pay then he's exposed.

 

He probably didn't even think about it when he was a happy careless hippy but it has come back to bite him in the bum now big time. Having sided with him at first and now having seen the item on the news last night apparently he has not provided for the child at all. Given that he is now minted would it really hurt to make some provision for the child? It may have been a brief liaison some time ago, but his 2 minutes and 52 seconds of squelching noises (as I think Johnny Rotten once charmingly called sex) did result in his partner becoming the mother of his child - don't think he should get away scot free on this one.

Edited by sadoldgit
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He probably didn't even think about it when he was a happy careless hippy but it has come back to bite him in the bum now big time. Having sided with him at first and now having seen the item on the news last night apparently he has not provided for the child at all. Given that he is now minted would it really hurt to make some provision for the child? It may have been a brief liaison some time ago, but his 2 minutes and 52 seconds of squelching noises (as I think Johnny Rotten once charmingly called sex) did result in his partner becoming the mother of his child - don't think he should get away scot free on this one.

 

His son has been living and working with him for some time. He also helped to raise her child from a previous relationship that she already had when she met him. I don't beleive she has been chasing the other fathers of her children for more money. This case has only got this far because he is funding both sets of lawyers, against his will. From what I can see the case now needs to go to the Family Court to determine how much, if anything, she should receive.

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I had a letter from the court saying that a financial decision would be made at the next hearing.

The ex never turned up the lilly livered judge would not make a decision in case it was overturned on appeal by her in the future. He then proceeded to say that she should get nothing but had the right to apply for another hearing if she ever turned up in the UK again. This leaves me in the position of the divorcr financial settlement never being completed. The laws an Ass I say.

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His son has been living and working with him for some time. He also helped to raise her child from a previous relationship that she already had when she met him. I don't beleive she has been chasing the other fathers of her children for more money. This case has only got this far because he is funding both sets of lawyers, against his will. From what I can see the case now needs to go to the Family Court to determine how much, if anything, she should receive.

 

Didn't know that Whitey, thanks for the info.

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