WHERE ONE PARTY BRINGS MORE TO THE MARRIAGE
It is often a matter of dispute in the family law case as to how much weight is given by the court to a situation where one party has brought more assets into the marriage than the other.
Some assistance and clarity was provided by a decision of Judge Binchy in DE v FG 2019 IEHC 83.
An application for both Judicial Separation and Divorce was brought by the husband. The parties had lived together from 1996, married in 1999 and separated in 2016. There were three children of the marriage. The evidence by the parties suggested that the Respondent wife had brought more assets into the marriage than the applicant husband.
Having regard to the particular facts of the case, the trial Judge divided the assets on the basis that the husband would receive assets of an approximate value of €400,000.00 while the wife would continue to retain assets of approximately €500,000.00.
The Court took into the account the fact that the husband was in secure gainful employment and the wife was not. He decided he should be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the dependent children.
Ultimately the Court must balance the assets, the relevance of the amount of assets brought into the marriage as well as the other factors set out in Section 20 of the Divorce Act in making its decision regarding proper provision.
For any further advices or assistance in many family law matters, please do not hesitate to contact Brendan Dillon or Lorna McArdle on 01-2960666
