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What’s mine is mine! Until we move to England…

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22 November 2018 / Ellie Hampson-Jones , Caroline East
Issue: 7818 / Categories: Features , Divorce , Family , Property
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Caroline East & Ellie Hampson-Jones explain why couples who wed abroad may be caught off guard by our matrimonial property laws

  • Outlines the recent case of XW v XH 2017 EWFC 76, where an Italian couple had opted into the separazione dei beni regime.
  • Explains how English divorce law may surprise wealthy couples from overseas.
  • Looks at ways to solve this issue and safeguard wealth.

Matrimonial property regimes govern the ownership of property during, and at the end of a marriage. They are commonplace in many European countries but we do not have a matrimonial property regime in England and Wales. So, what happens if a foreign couple who marry in a jurisdiction which has such a regime moves to Blighty and ends up embroiled in divorce proceedings here?

Enter the recent case of XW v XH 2017 EWFC 76.

Background

The wife was born in 1969 and was of Asian and European descent. Her mother’s family came from a

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