http://www.marilynstowe.co.uk/2008/10/22/death-and-divorce-%e2%80%93-where-does-the-money-go/ Where Family Law Meets Family Life Thu, 17 May 2012 17:28:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.marilynstowe.co.uk/2008/10/22/death-and-divorce-%e2%80%93-where-does-the-money-go/#comment-185 Jonathan James Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:59:28 +0000 http://www.marilynstowe.co.uk/?p=336#comment-185 I am interested in the second of these examples. Sadly I dealt with a case a couple of years ago with almost exactly the same facts. The difference was that the former wife did in fact issue an application under the Inheritance Act and pursued it to trial. The only asset in the estate was the house which the former husband had owned solely and which he had left to his fiance. He died in his forties of a sudden illness, just weeks before the wedding. The trial was one of the most embarressing I have ever witnessed. The former wife spent the first morning giving evidence and at lunch time, had to withdraw her application because it was so unlikely to succeed. The twist in the tail was that although the fiancee was entitled to have her costs paid by the former wife, she actually agreed to pay the wife instead so that her fiance's daughter would not suffer financially! Never underestimate just how undignified some people become when they see money. I am interested in the second of these examples. Sadly I dealt with a case a couple of years ago with almost exactly the same facts. The difference was that the former wife did in fact issue an application under the Inheritance Act and pursued it to trial. The only asset in the estate was the house which the former husband had owned solely and which he had left to his fiance. He died in his forties of a sudden illness, just weeks before the wedding.
The trial was one of the most embarressing I have ever witnessed. The former wife spent the first morning giving evidence and at lunch time, had to withdraw her application because it was so unlikely to succeed. The twist in the tail was that although the fiancee was entitled to have her costs paid by the former wife, she actually agreed to pay the wife instead so that her fiance’s daughter would not suffer financially!
Never underestimate just how undignified some people become when they see money.

]]>