Standish v Standish, a high-profile divorce case which led to the largest reduction to a divorce award in England and Wales, landed itself in the UK Supreme Court on 30 April and 1 May 2025. The Supreme Court will review the Court of Appeal’s decision to reduce Mrs. Standish’s divorce award from £45 million to £25 million after the Court of Appeal disagreed with the High Court’s decision that the husband’s non-matrimonial property had become matrimonial property.
Matrimonial property refers to all assets acquired by either spouse during the marriage, reflecting the idea that marriage is a joint venture. Non-matrimonial property refers to all assets that were owned by either spouse before the marriage (pre-acquired) or assets acquired during the marriage but kept separate (for example, inheritance). Usually, non-matrimonial property stays with the original owner unless one or both of the couple need it to live on.
The Supreme Court will be looking at when non-matrimonial property can be considered matrimonial property in a divorce and will also consider how the principle of sharing matrimonial property should be applied to such property. The decision is awaited but will hopefully provide clarity as to how non-matrimonial property will be treated in financial remedy proceedings and clarify the law surrounding when non-matrimonial property can become matrimonial property. It could significantly affect how courts divide wealth when a marriage ends, especially when some of that wealth wasn’t made during the marriage.
The decision is expected later in 2025.
