Relationship breakdown comes with multiple challenges – practical, emotional, legal and financial. For most people, their first thought is “How do we get divorced?” not “Where do we get divorced?”. Nevertheless, there are some couples who choose to pursue their divorce or make claims for financial provision in a different country. This is known as divorce tourism.
Divorce tourism is caused by divorcing parties considering other jurisdictions to have more favourable divorce laws and financial provisions, than their own country. There are couples who choose to leave England/Wales to divorce elsewhere, often due to the delays in the court system. But London is widely considered the “divorce capital” of the world and draws in thousands of separating couples with favourable financial settlements and its no-fault divorce process.
Divorcing in England and Wales
However, there are caveats to being a divorce tourist to England and Wales. Whilst it can seem inviting, it is not enough to simply dislike the system you’re in or the settlement granted abroad, and getting permission to divorce abroad is not always straightforward or automatic.
Couples have two options when it comes to divorce tourism. Firstly, a choice as to where the marriage is actually dissolved i.e. where the divorce itself takes place. Secondly, where a divorce has been granted abroad, there can be claims made for financial provision in an alternate jurisdiction. In both cases, the applicant will need to have sufficient links with England/Wales if they are seeking orders to be made in this jurisdiction and these will be looked at closely by the courts. Examples of such links include:
- Habitual residence (i.e., you have lived in the country for a certain period and have an intention to settle)
- Property
- Residency
- Visa status
The process of applying is also two-fold as permission must first be sought from the court and must be granted before an application for divorce or for financial provision can then be made. If the connections to England/Wales are too tenuous, the application can be rejected or only allowed in part.
Despite this, the favourable conditions for divorce and financial settlements often override the sometimes lengthy process of application. English courts are perceived as being very generous towards the financially weaker spouse, as asset division always starts at an equal division of the ‘matrimonial assets’. Of course, this can be deviated from when the needs of either party require it, and the courts can also look to non-matrimonial assets to meet needs. This means the financially weaker spouse is taken care of regardless of what they have or have not bought into the marriage and their income generation. The law in England and Wales does not make distinctions between ‘breadwinners’ and ‘homemakers’ when it comes to contributions to the marriage.
There is also relatively less weight given to pre and post nuptial agreements in this country, so where one party wishes to counter the agreements made, they may have more success under English law.
Potanina v Potanin
The ongoing case of Potanina v Potanin has revived the profile of divorce tourism in the UK, and specifically reignited London’s spark as the divorce capital of the world.
Natalia Potanina, ex-wife of Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanina, has recently been granted leave by the Court of Appeal to pursue a claim for financial provision under Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984. Her move to London in 2017 was driven by her financial award in Russia in 2014, which gave her allegedly only 1% of the matrimonial pot. Mr Potanin at the time of divorce was estimated to have wealth of around $14billion, which had now grown to almost $25billion. Mrs Potanina is claiming for $6billion in the English courts.
However, although she now has permission to pursue her claim, this has been a cautionary tale in the necessary requirements for English divorce law. More than 10 years after the couple divorced in Russia, Mrs Potanina still needs to apply for financial provision from her ex-husband, her connections to England having been scrutinised thoroughly.
Is London still the divorce capital?
Some have argued in recent years that London’s status as the divorce capital of the world has been waning. Nevertheless, Mrs Potanina’s recent success has highlighted just how important England/Wales, specifically London, are in providing a home for those needing to claim financial provision in divorce having received an unfair settlement abroad.
We are yet to see whether her application for $6b of her husband’s wealth will be successful, but the Court of Appeal’s decision could turn eyes back to London.
Siobhan Vegh is a partner at Stowe Family Law
