header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
15 March 2013 / Anna Heenan
Issue: 7552 / Categories: Features , Divorce , Family , Ancillary relief
printer mail-detail

All about the evidence

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Anna Heenan examines the implications of the latest in a long line of inherited assets cases

The decision in Davies v Davies [2012] EWCA Civ 1641 is likely to be of use to practitioners for its consideration of how to deal with an inherited business to which the wife had made a significant contribution during a short marriage. The case also highlights the importance of valuation evidence in cases dealing with inherited assets, echoing the emphasis on case preparation in decisions such as X v X [2012] EWHC 538 (Fam) and B v B [2012] EWHC 314 in the early part of 2012.

Background

The full details of the parties’ financial position are not set out in the judgment. However, the key asset for the purposes of the appeal was a successful London hotel, owned and run by the husband.

It is important to be aware of the distinction between the hotel business and the buildings occupied by that business (the premises). The hotel business was originally set up

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll