Christopher acted for the Husband in a case involving substantial assets.
The parties, who had two teenage children, owned a family home and a portfolio of 3 investment properties with a total gross value of £1.6million. The Husband had a pension worth nearly £400, 000, of which a significant amount had accrued prior to the marriage, and sought to retain one of the properties and his pension intact.
The Wife maintained that one of her family members had spent £100,000 converting one of the properties into three flats, however Christopher’s client had not agreed for any such work to be undertaken, and in any event there was no planning permission for the work. There was also an issue as to what monies the Wife’s family had received in rental income from the converted flats. The Husband’s case was that if any money was owed to the Wife’s family this was her responsibility.
Christopher negotiated a settlement whereby the Husband retained one property, his entire pension and a significant lump sum, with a clean break thereafter. No account was taken of the money allegedly owed to the Wife’s family.