What are the implications of a court setting aside a disposal made by a divorcing spouse to a third party? Anna Heenan & Ed Heaton report
It is not uncommon on divorce for people’s thoughts to turn to limiting their spouse’s financial claim. For the unscrupulous, this can go a step further with people “disposing” of assets to try and put them beyond their spouse’s reach. While the courts have a wide discretion under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) to redistribute assets between the parties on divorce, matters are inevitably more complicated when the assets in question are held by parties outside the marriage.
In the recent case of AC v DC (No 1) [2012] EWHC 2032 (Fam), the court had to consider the extent to which it was appropriate to invoke its power under s 37 of MCA 1973 to order the setting aside of a disposal made by one of the parties to the marriage to a third party in the form of an offshore corporate trustee.
Background
After the wife had issued her divorce petition, the husband
