Date of Case: 1 May 2020
Case Reference: [2020] EWHC 1316

Elizabeth Clarke acted for the wife in this financial remedy case in which the husband had brought a claim against the wife, who was a beneficiary of several family trusts. Cohen J considered issues including the exaggerated needs claimed by the husband and the extent to which trusts of which the wife was a beneficiary were a resource for her. The judge rejected the husband’s claimed need for £5m and awarded a little more than the wife’s open proposal – £2.85m rather than the £2.2m offered by the wife. The judge concluded that the husband had ‘overplayed the poor relation card’.

Bailii report: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2020/1316.html

Case note on Family Law Hub: https://familylawhub.co.uk/default.aspx?i=ce7445 

Case note on Class Legal website: https://classlegal.com/news/exaggerated-expenses-zn-v-gn-2020-ewhc-1316-fam-1