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Trusts, Divorce & Family Law

High net worth families often hold their assets in complex fiduciary wealth holding structures across various jurisdictions. When these trusts, or other corporate wealth holding structures, are targeted in a personal or family dispute, clients seek our expert advice to reach a satisfactory outcome.

Our expertise

We are leading specialists in both divorce litigation and international trust disputes. We are ranked in the top tier by legal commentators for both practices and, as such, we are particularly well placed to deal with the specific legal and practical issues that arise in divorce cases where family wealth is held in fiduciary wealth holding structures.

Most of our work involves international assets, wealth structures, and overseas courts. We offer our clients truly integrated services across different jurisdictions working with a trusted network of the best lawyers, counsel, and intermediaries.

We can help if:

  • You are setting up a wealth holding structure (a settlor) and wish to protect the assets in the event of future family disharmony
  • You are married or are about to get married and wish to reduce the risks associated with relationship breakdown where assets are held within a structure
  • You are about to marry or have married someone whose assets are held within a structure and have been asked to sign a pre/post-nuptial agreement
  • Your relationship is at an end and divorce proceedings are anticipated. You need to resolve legal and practical issues that arise for couples where assets are held in trusts and other vehicles
  • You are a trustee or fiduciary involved in running a structure where family proceedings are anticipated or ongoing for one of the beneficiaries

Recent work highlights 

  • Acting for the successful appellant to overturn a judgment which held that a property was held on a resulting trust for the husband of a divorcing couple. Ravendark Holdings Ltd. v Rotenberg [2021] EWCA Civ 1661
  • Representing the beneficiaries of a family trust who successfully intervened in hard fought High Court divorce proceedings between their parents in order to protect their substantial trust interests.  WX v HX and NX (Treatment of Matrimonial and Non-Matrimonial Property) [2021] EWHC 241 (Fam).
  • Advising the trustees of family trusts in the context of financial proceedings brought against one of the trust beneficiaries by his wife. The matter raised extremely difficult questions of trust law, including some novel issues where little case law exists. We were successful in ensuring that the wife did not pursue her claims for financial provision out of the trust at the final hearing. AF v SF [2019] EWHC 1224.
  • Determination of a wife’s financial remedy application after a final order had been set aside because of non-disclosure of trusts by her husband. GW v GW [2016] EWHC 3000 (Fam).
  • Advising trustees of Cypriot trusts in relation to proceedings brought by the wife in Switzerland for financial provision from her husband, following divorce. Rybolovlev v Rybolovleva 15 ITELR 554.

Simply an amazing team. Farrers is a full service private client firm and the family department is second to none. Undoubtedly one of the very best firms in London. I cannot speak highly enough about them. They are all team players and they play the game to their clients’ very best advantage.

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