Henry Hood examines how the behaviour of one spouse in a divorce proceeding has financial consequences in The Times

Henry’s article was published in The Times, June 2020, and can be seen here.

Henry Hood, Head of our Family & Relationships department, reflects on a subtle but significant shift in how courts may consider misconduct in divorce financial settlements.

Traditionally, only the most egregious behaviour, such as violent crime or financially reckless conduct, has influenced financial awards, in line with the high threshold set by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and the precedent in Wachtel v Wachtel.

However, two recent cases suggest that emotionally damaging behaviour, even if not criminal or financial in nature, may now be taken into account.

In FRB v DCA, the court considered the emotional impact on a husband who discovered, years into fatherhood, that he was not the biological parent of his child, a fact the wife had concealed.

Similarly, in T v T, a husband’s long-term deception in maintaining a secret second family was deemed too serious to ignore.

These cases indicate that while the threshold for conduct to affect financial outcomes remains high, the scope has widened to include severe emotional betrayal. This development raises the question of whether more subtle, long-term emotional abuse might one day also meet the threshold for consideration.

Read the full article on The Times website [subscription required].