Divorce

Although a prospective inheritance which had the certainty brought to it by the laws of forced heirship, was capable of being a ‘financial resource’ when considering matters under s 25(2)(a) Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the judge had been in error giving the wife a time-limited occupational interest in two flats, on that basis.

The Court of Appeal, Civil Division held that the judge had lost sight of her own finding that there were very substantial liquid funds available within the family arrangement (to which the husband had an absolute right) together with his substantial earning capacity and £1.6m in funds outside the family arrangement.