Declaration of Interest: I separated from my wife a couple of years ago, so it could be argued that I have an axe to grind. That said, we sorted out the asset split ourselves on the grounds that we really didn't want solicitors stirring things up, which in any case would have left both of us receiving less.
Right then, to business:
There were a couple of judgments in the House of Lords yesterday regarding divorce. In one, a former career woman who gave up work to bring the couple's children up had her settlement upheld. Fine - I suppose that the couple have differing opinions of how much she should have been awarded, but it seems to me that the basic principle on this one's pretty fair.
The other decision's the one I find just a little bit bonkers. After a marriage lasting two years and nine months, another high-flying couple split up. The wife in this one was awarded £5 million, which was upheld by their Lordships in yesterday's judgement.
Lets examine this one a bit more: There were no children from this union. The wife gave up work on marriage - she'd previously been earning about £85000 per annum, so I find it unlikely that she was anywhere near destitute. My rough calculations suggest that she's gained about £5000 per day for her brief union - surely that's rather disproportionate?