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NLJ this week: Sifting through Standish v Standish

08 August 2025
Issue: 8128 / Categories: Legal News , Family , Divorce
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In this week's issue, Ellie Hampson-Jones of Stewarts analyses the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Standish v Standish [2025] UKSC 26. The court clarified that non-matrimonial property—such as assets acquired before marriage—should generally be excluded from the sharing principle in divorce

The judgment rejected the idea that transferring assets into a spouse’s name automatically makes them matrimonial. Instead, the source of the wealth is key.

The court also outlined how non-matrimonial assets might become matrimonial over time if treated as shared. In this case, the £80m transferred by Mr Standish to his wife for tax planning was not deemed shared, as there was no evidence of joint treatment.

The ruling reduces Mrs Standish’s award from £45m to £25m and sets a precedent with wide implications for family law and wealth planning. The case now returns to the High Court to assess whether £25m meets Mrs Standish’s needs.

Issue: 8128 / Categories: Legal News , Family , Divorce
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

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