Divorce
Cummings v Fawn [2023] EWHC 830 (Fam), [2023] All ER (D) 10 (May)
The Family Division allowed an appeal against a finding that a Xydhias agreement entered into between the parties was fair. The appellant had backed out of the agreement, requesting a determination of its fairness, contending that it did not meet her needs. The judge ruled that the agreement was fair. On appeal, the appellant challenged that judgment. The court held that the judge had made an appealable error in assessing how the appellant’s needs could be met through the agreement. The judge appeared to have used an incorrect figure for the value of an investment property of the respondent and failed to make findings on some of the liabilities of the appellant. The judge could not lawfully exercise the discretion that she had to exercise under s 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 without having made findings, on the balance of probability, on those matters. The judge was also wrong in finding that the respondent’s non-disclosure of an inheritance worth at least £4m was not operative.
