Tuesday 29 April 2014

Poker player wins case not to pay child maintenance from winnings

A professional poker player has won his case to NOT support his children from his winnings because his income is not from 'gainful employment'.

Three judges at the Appeal Court rules that his poker playing did not amount to a trade, business or profession and therefore did not fall within the regulations of child support.

The decision follows a four year dispute after the mother of the children claimed his gambling was a profession, like a professional sportsman, and asked the Child Support Agency to order him to pay maintenance.  An earlier hearing had concluded that his winnings DID constitute gainful employment and ruled that he should pay maintenance.

If you'd like to read the full story which originally appeared in the Telegraph, please click here

Tuesday 15 April 2014

Man kills wife's pet ram in bitter divorce battle

A man who killed his wife's pet ram has found himself in the divorce courts.  The marriage had already gone sour, but the killing by the husband was apparently the last straw for the wife.  The elderly couple (70 and 68 years old) are enormously wealthy and have houses in London, Austria and the south of France.  

The wife, who is claiming £390,000 in annual maintenance (including £70,000 for holidays) is hoping to have the full divorce case heard in England, where wives are perceived to receive more generous settlements.  The husband, meanwhile, is arguing that he is not domiciled here, and it is for a Judge to decide where the case will be heard.

It seems that the unfortunate ram lived in the south of France until his death - the couple had bought a house there after the wife said how much she disliked the cold and damp of the UK in the winter.

A Judge will now decide if the full divorce proceedings should go ahead in the UK.  In the meantime he has awarded the wife a pared-down sum of £170,000 a year to live on.

If you'd like to see the full story as it originally appeared in The Telegraph, click here

Tuesday 1 April 2014

A victory for the house-husband

A stay-at-home husband who claims he sacrificed his own career so his wife, an investment banker, could continue hers has triumphed in a crucial round of their impending £11million divorce battle.

House husband, Weng Choy, says he filed for divorce from his "breadwinner" wife, Lena Tan, in January 2012, after a blazing row days earlier on New Year's Eve proved the "final straw" proving, yet again, that January really is the time when most divorces can get started.

Ms Tan cited the fact that she needed to be in Malaysia and that the divorce should be heard there, despite over half the couple's wealth being invested in UK assets, including an unmortgaged £4.5m apartment in Kensington.

Ms Tan claimed that Mr Choy had no right to divorce in England as they had houses in Hong Kong, Malaysia and London.  However, three Appeal Court judges settled the debate in Mr Choy's favour, ruling that he had been "habitually resident" in this country for a year before he filed for divorce and therefore was entitled to fight his case before an English family judge.  English judges are renowned for their generosity to the partners of rich spouses.

If you would like to read the full story which originally appeared in The Telegraph, please click here