Writing in NLJ this week, Lucy Hitchen of Ribet Myles Family Law analyses MK v SK, where the court concluded a husband had likely concealed substantial assets through complex offshore trust structures yet still based the settlement largely on the wife’s immediate ‘needs’. The husband claimed businesses linked to trusts were close to insolvency and denied beneficial ownership, despite evidence suggesting wealth running into millions.
Mr Justice Peel ultimately awarded the wife £1.55m, debt repayments and the former matrimonial home, but declined to delay proceedings for a single joint expert valuation.
Hitchen questions whether this allowed the husband to avoid ‘any real independent scrutiny’ of his finances. She also criticises the anonymisation of the case, arguing reduced transparency risks creating the impression wealthy spouses can simply ‘get away with it’.
