The Supreme Court and Standish v Standish

1^st May 2025 marks, what is thought to be, the final day of arguments to be heard by the legal teams of Mr and Mrs Standish before the UK Supreme Court. These proceedings reflect the final attempt by Mrs Standish to argue that, amongst other things, a 77.8-million-pound transfer from Mr Standish to her during the parties' marriage should be considered a matrimonial asset.

In 2024, this high-profile divorce went through the Court of Appeal with Mrs Standish arguing that the court's decision to make an unequal split of the matrimonial assets (60:40) in favour of Mr Standish was not the correct application of the law. The Court of Appeal's cross-appeal decision that the assets transferred by Mr Standish in 2017 had not become matrimonial property, marked a significant shift for legal practitioners advising clients in relation to when assets may or may not be subject to the sharing principle. Lord Justice Moylan concluded that the initial judge's application of the sharing principle had led to a division of wealth which was unjustifiably in Mrs Standish's favour, and the Court of Appeal therefore reduced her award by 40%, leaving her with just £25m, rather than the £45m she received following the decision at first instance.

The Court of Appeal decision provided clarity for practitioners about how the courts would treat pre-marital assets which had been "matrimonialised" or mingled with matrimonial assets; however, this decision is now being challenged at the highest court in the UK, the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's final judgment is anticipated to be made later in the year after the proceedings have concluded and more than five years following parties' separation.

While the decision in Standish will directly impact only English family law principles, the forthcoming judgement from the Supreme Court will be considered and contrasted to the long-established Scottish family law position in respect of the fair sharing of matrimonial property on divorce. Over the coming months, family lawyers across the UK will await the Supreme Court's decision with curious anticipation.