Divorcee hit in pocket for ‘abysmal behaviour’

Divorce proceedings can be emotionally fraught and legal advice can help to settle feelings. In one case, however, a husband was hit hard in the pocket for his truly abysmal behaviour, including an assault on his wife’s barrister.

The former couple had been married for 20 years and had assets worth about £1.5 million. However, what should have been a straightforward case had been derailed by the husband’s extreme misconduct. He had unleashed a deluge of abusive and threatening emails against judges, his wife and her legal representatives.

He had been committed to prison for contempt after threatening to kill his wife and had been convicted by magistrates of assaulting her barrister. However, he had skipped the sentencing hearing and fled abroad before continuing his email campaign. A warrant for his arrest had been issued but that had not stopped him from entering into a number of transactions which were designed to defeat his wife’s financial claims.

After finding that the husband had undisclosed assets of about £500,000, the High Court ordered the transfer of assets worth a total of £733,518 to the wife. That represented around 49.5 per cent of the total marital assets. In response to his appalling behaviour, the husband was also ordered to pay £146,609 in legal costs.