Family law solicitors in London, Brighton and across the UK continually look to the courts to clarify law and circumstances under which certain provisions of the statutes are applicable.

In March 2010 the Supreme Court made a ruling which clarified the circumstances in which an order for financial provision on divorce can be made under Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 (MFPA), where a ruling has previously been made by a foreign family law court.

The case involved Mr and Mrs Agbaje, a Nigerian-born couple who had met and married in England 38 years before divorcing in 2005 and who both acquired British citizenship in 1972. They had five children; all born in England and all but one had been educated in England.

When the marriage broke down in 1999, the wife came to live permanently in England.

In 2003, Mr Agbaje commenced divorce proceedings in Nigeria. The couple's major assets consisted of two houses in London, both in the husband's name, and the balance of wealth consisted of properties in Nigeria.

The Nigerian court awarded Mrs Agbaje life interest in a property in Lagos (found by the Nigerian court to have a value of around £86,000) and a lump sum payment in respect of life-long maintenance equivalent to around £21,000. The total assets were valued at around £700,000.

Mrs Agbaje sought relief in the English Family law courts under Part III of the MFPA and, with Mr Justice Coleridge presiding, the High Court awarded a lump sum equal to 65% of the proceeds from the sale of one of the London homes on condition that she gave up her interest in the Lagos property. This £275,000 award represented around 39% of the total assets.

Mr Agbaje appealed against this decision and the Court of Appeal overturned Coleridge J's award, ruling that the High Court had not given sufficient weight to the Nigerian connections in the case.

In June 2009, Mrs Agbaje won the right to take her case to the Supreme Court where the major consideration was the proper approach for courts to take when considering Part III applications for ancillary relief after a foreign family law court has ruled unfavourably on the applicant.

The Court ruled that in light of the purpose of the MFPA, which is to alleviate any adverse consequences of no, or no adequate, financial provision being awarded by a foreign court, applications under Part III should be applied accordingly. English courts should consider relevant factors such as what financial benefit the applicant has already received and whether the applicant has taken advantage of all rights under the applied foreign family law to claim financial relief. Any hardship or injustice resulting from no further award should be taken into consideration, although neither factor is a pre-condition to any award under Part III.

The Supreme Court held the original decision of the High Court should stand.

Applying for financial relief under Part III with Healys' family law solicitors in London or Brighton

To apply for relief under Part III the applicant must have the necessary connections to England or Wales and any financial award will depend on all of the circumstances of the case.

Healys is unique in having offices in both central London and Brighton and our family law solicitors regularly represent clients in both the High Court and in local courts across the south east of England and beyond.  We have family department clients in the UK and overseas.

If you wish to speak to one of our experienced, yet sensitive and understanding divorce lawyers about making an application for relief under Part III of the MFPA, or any issue arising from divorce or relationship breakdown please call Catherine Taylor on 01273 669 124 or e-mail on catherine.taylor@healys.com