Every week there are high profile divorce cases where wives who previously gave up their careers for their marriages are involved in bitter disputes over settlements.
The law is often not clear cut in cases where assets are worth several million pounds and proceeds from the sale of those assets can in the court’s opinion be used to maintain a reasonably affluent lifestyle.
One case in point is that of what the Telegraph calls “High flying housewife” Julia Hammans who is demanding a larger slice of her husband’s £11 million. While both Mrs Hammans and her husband started out on equal terms, the former decided to give up her career when her first child was born.
The court ruled that Mrs Hammans needed £80,000 a year to live on as well as the £1.75 million home she shared with her husband and a £400,000 cash settlement. Mrs Hammans argued that she required another £2.2 million on top of the settlement because her income is 10 times less than that of her husband.
Despite, in theory, having the opportunity to keep the family home, the house would need to be sold to generate enough cash to meet the £80,000 a year income.
The case is currently being contested at the Court of Appeal on the grounds that Mrs Hammans deserves to live a similarly affluent lifestyle to her husband because she sacrificed her career to do so.