Footballer Ryan Giggs is arguing that his football skills make him a ‘genius’ and therefore, he should receive more financial assets in his divorce settlement. Family Law specialist, Louise Daniel, explains and explores the precedent set by past divorce cases.
A special contribution
While the former Manchester United player is undoubtedly one of the most talented footballers of his generation, any party making this argument must be able to prove the ‘special contribution’ that they have made to the matrimonial finances, as well as persuading the Court to consider their talent to be ‘genius’.
Historically, it has been necessary for the talent to be demonstrated as ‘genius’ to persuade the judge to divide assets significantly more in favour of one party than the other.
What do past cases tell us?
There have been exceptional cases of high net worth divorces where, very rarely, ‘genius’ has been a successful argument. The most notable case is of Cowan in 2001, where the man who made his fortune introducing the black bin liner to the UK successfully persuaded the court to divide the matrimonial assets in his favour.
However, more recent attempts to persuade courts to deal with matters in this way have been unsuccessful. American private equity tycoon, Randy Work argued a claim to more than half his marriage’s £140 million fortune. This failed when Mr Justice Hoffman told him that his contribution was not ‘wholly exceptional,’ and rejected the claim that he was a financial genius.
The courts are reluctant to describe specifically what a special contribution is, so it has been acknowledged in very few cases where sums of money between spouses has been significant.
Far more husbands have tried and failed with this argument, which goes against the ‘yardstick of equality’ commonly cited in family finance cases. The more ‘genius’ claims that are defeated in the courts, the harder it becomes to convince a judge that such ‘genius’ exists.
Equality as a starting point
When considering the financial aspects of divorce, the starting position is that of equality. The traditional wife’s role of being a homemaker and caring for the children is widely accepted in the courts in England and Wales as being of equal value to financial earnings.
When spouses divorce, the court will consider the length of the marriage, the age of the parties, whether there are any children of the union, the needs of each party, their standard of living, any disabilities and the contributions each party has made.
In exceptional circumstances, the conduct of each party will also be considered, however, exceptional contributions do not always trump the other factors.
Will Giggs be successful?
It’s yet to be seen whether Giggs will be able to successfully persuade the courts that his ‘genius’ should be rewarded over and above equality.
While few couples have the benefit of the money available in the Giggs case, any case involving parties divorcing and making financial agreements requires expert legal advice. This is a complex field and specialist advice will ensure a fair and reasonable settlement is achieved.
WHN has a specialist team of matrimonial lawyers who can advise on a range of divorce issues. For more information on any divorce matter, call Louise Daniel on 01706 213356 or email her at louise.daniel@whnsolicitors.co.uk
