Exclusion order arguments advised to depart from equal sharing of net capital

Our client separated from her husband due to his conduct, feeling forced to leave the family home with the two children of the marriage.   Our client was effectively rendered without a home for herself and the children to live in.  All the marital assets including the high-value family home were in her husband’s sole name, he had significant business interests and a pension.  The pot of matrimonial assets was worth over 2.4 million pounds. We advised our client to take urgent action in the Sheriff Court to obtain an exclusion order and interdict, suspending her husband’s occupancy rights in the marital home and allowing her to return there with the children.

From a position of strength, our client was then able to negotiate a  financial settlement.  As she had been the main carer of the children and had given up a  potentially lucrative career, we used our expertise to argue successfully that she should be entitled to a greater than equal share of the net capital to reflect this  The house was eventually sold by agreement and our client’s child-care burden and reduced earning capacity – her   “financial disadvantage” -   was reflected in a settlement that saw her receive over 60 per cent of the global net matrimonial assets. Despite the high conflict nature of the case at the outset, our family team were able to support our client through a very stressful situation and managed to negotiate a settlement for her on the most favourable terms whilst avoiding her incurring the cost of a proof.