Divorce makes women richer. This statement has become true to a large extent after the ruling by the House of Lords which has obliterated the distinction between the breadwinner and the homemaker.
For the first time, a wife’s contribution to the family has been legally recognised to be at par with the husband’s. The sacrifice that she makes by giving up her job to look after the home and the kids was a reason for this. Hence, in case of a divorce, the woman should be entitled to an equal share of the assets of the family.
Reason for the Court’s Bias
According to research, women in the UK are likely to receive greater monetary benefits after divorce. There have been many cases in which the court has favoured the weaker sex while passing the judgement.
One of the controversial cases was that of Melissa Miller, who was awarded £5 million after a divorce. The price that her husband paid for a marriage which was less than 3 years old was enormous. But the courts decision was guided by the fact that Melissa had given up a job worth £85,000 annual when she had married.
Another case that can be highlighted is that of Julia McFarlane who was awarded £250,000 a year indefinitely as compensation for giving up her career as a successful law practitioner after the birth of her second child. She became a full time home-maker and the court wanted her to get equitable if not equal reparation for looking after the family and helping her husband focus on his career.
There are many such cases that can be listed where women have been placed higher than their male counterparts. The reason behind this is that a woman’s contribution as a home-maker and child-carer is of equal significance as that of a man especially if she had to sacrifice her career for it.
Areas Where Women get Advantage
Child Custody
It is a fact that mothers get the primary custody of children in most of the divorce cases. The court always wants the children, who are the worst affected by their parents’ divorce, to live with that parent who is their primary caregiver. It is the mother who is the primary caregiver in most of the cases because she gives up her career and stays at home full time to take care of the kids and the house. She attends to their daily activities and looks after them.
Another reason why women often give up their career easily after marriage is that they are still underpaid. For every £1.00 that a man gets, a woman is paid only £0.70. Since someone has to stay back and look after the kids and mothers earn less than fathers, it makes sense for the mother to quit.
The most important reason is that it is very difficult to carry on a career when you have an infant to look after. The infant is totally dependant on the mother for everything and she has to stay 24X7 with the child during the initial months.
Division of Family Assets and Maintenance
Who will get what after a divorce is an endless argument that is still going on. Usually women get fifty percent or more after a divorce. But in case if the husband does not want to care for the children and the marital home is the only asset, the wife gets everything.
Whatever both the partners earn during the marriage belongs to both and should be equally distributed. England has now become one of the most sought after places to divorce since it has become very simple for women to claim most of their husband’s assets and also their future earnings.
Normally English courts are tough on assets. They calculate the assets of the spouses and look into an equal distribution of property. But in many cases women were seen to have an upper hand after the court’s decision .The decision depends on a number of factors namely the timing of the divorce, assets and liabilities, maintenance to children and spouse after the break up.
The Last Word
When couples divorce, they should be financially prepared for it. It is often seen that it is the women who needs a lawyer desperately because their male counterpart earn better and can afford a good solicitor. The cost of living of a woman increases dramatically after a divorce, hence the court’s ruling of alimony and child support maintenance favours women. Men on the other hand are looking at ways to protect their assets and continue to live a reasonably good life after divorce.
