Inconsistency Reigns Over Pre-Acquired Assets

The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Robson was discussed in the last newsletter. Just before we went to press, another key judgment of the Court of Appeal was handed down: Jones v Jones [2011] EWCA Civ 41. This article expands on the short 'stop press' that appeared at the end of the last newsletter.

Both Robson and Jones shared a central similarity: the existence of wealth, external to the marriage but in some way treated as a resource during it, which had to be divided on divorce having regard to its nature and quality. Whereas in Robson the entirety of the husband's wealth had been accumulated before the marriage and inherited from the husband's father, in Jones the husband's business was the only significant asset in the case. It had been in existence since around 1986, approximately 10 years before the marriage. The parties married in 1996 when the husband was 44 and the wife was almost 30. They separated...