We are delighted to bring you our inaugural Valentines edition of the HNW Divorce Magazine, where you will get the latest insights from all professionals whose practice encompasses or touches upon the HNW Divorce community.

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While we are all aware of the highly complex legal, financial, commercial and international issues raised by HNW divorces, how much do we know about the personalities that have evolved within this section of society? What might we encounter of the psychology and emotional aspects of the parties involved? HNW and UHNW individuals face and develop a set of challenges within life that might be unfamiliar to those who do not inhabit that world of affluence. The very nature of their circumstances allows them to distance and detach themselves from the everyday concerns that occupy most of the planet, the need to survive financial demands on daily basis, to make ends meet. Consequently there is often little awareness, sympathy or empathy for the human and existential struggles that they, like every other human on the planet, have to face.

The Oscar winning Marriage Story, released on Netflix, is a compellingly accurate, often painful to watch, account of the fallout when a marriage ends, and the damaging impact adversarial litigation can have. As family lawyers, we are all used to scoffing at TV dramas bearing little resemblance to the reality (“did you see? They used completely the wrong court forms!?  And just IMAGINE speaking to your clients like that!”), but Marriage Story really is something different.

While we are all aware of the highly complex legal, financial, commercial and international issues raised by HNW divorces, how much do we know about the personalities that have evolved within this section of society? What might we encounter of the psychology and emotional aspects of the parties involved? HNW and UHNW individuals face and develop a set of challenges within life that might be unfamiliar to those who do not inhabit that world of affluence. The very nature of their circumstances allows them to distance and detach themselves from the everyday concerns that occupy most of the planet, the need to survive financial demands on daily basis, to make ends meet. Consequently there is often little awareness, sympathy or empathy for the human and existential struggles that they, like every other human on the planet, have to face.

This article briefly discusses two cross-jurisdictional issues arising in foreign  HNW divorces on which we are regularly instructed to advise from a Jersey law perspective.Given Jersey's status as a leading and highly regulated, offshore financial services centre, we frequently encounter HNW and UHNW divorces featuring Jersey trust structures. In almost all cases, Jersey trusts are administered by professional trustees regulated under our Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 by the Jersey Financial Service Commission and further subject to the supervision of the Royal Court of Jersey. When beneficiaries of a Jersey trust become involved in foreign divorce proceedings, it is helpful for them to understand that the trustee(s) have a number of important decisions to make...

Insolvency proceedings are a potential option for clients to consider in situations where there are unpaid debts, judgments and orders and/or concerns over the dissipation of assets.

It is recognised that insolvency can seem a nuclear option for enforcement but insolvency proceedings can be an effective strategy to maximise recoveries where a client has an outstanding award.

It is almost ten years since the landmark decision of the Supreme Court in Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42 changed the law on prenuptial agreements, giving their enforceability a huge boost when holding that the parties would be held to their bargain in the event of a divorce where the agreement ‘’was freely entered into by each party with a full appreciation of its implications, unless in the circumstances prevailing it would not be fair to hold the parties to their agreement’’.

The World Health Authority is on the verge of declaring the coronavirus a pandemic, a disease found significantly on more than one continent and being spread frequently between people.  How should family lawyers take this into account in the work they are undertaking for their clients, particularly international clients or those with assets abroad?  This summary note is intended for England and Wales but has relevance for all family lawyers around the world.

Jane Keir is one of the most well known and recognisable faces of family law. As co-chair of our inaugural conference we got her thoughts on the industry and what to look out for on the 19th May.