Case No. BV20D07073

[2006] UKHL 24; [2006] 2 AC 618, the House of Lords identified three principles that should guide the court in trying to achieve fairness, namely:-(a)The sharing of matrimonial property generated by the parties during their marriage;(b)Compensation for relationship generated disadvantage; and(c)Needs balanced against ability to pay.49.There is no question of compensation for relationship generated disadvantage in this case. There may, however, be an issue as to needs if I decide that the matrimonial property is either very limited or that sharing it would be insufficient to provide for either party’s needs, taking into account the resources available, the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage and any other relevant matter.50.It follows that my main task, in this case, is to assess the matrimonial property generated by the parties during the marriage, to include any settled period of cohabitation that moved seamlessly into marriage. Unlike many cases, this isundoubtedly complicated by the transfer of assets to the Wife in early 2017. Once I have decided the extent of the matrimonial property, I must then decide in what proportions that matrimonial property should be shared. If the assets have been generated during the marriage, the likelihood now is that they will be shared equally, particularly as it is rightly not asserted in this case that there has been a special contribution. The question, however, is how to deal with assets that were not matrimonial at the outset but have become matrimonialised as a result of the actions of the parties during the marriage. It follows that, unusually, this will require a three stage process. First, I must investigate what proportion of the assets were acquired by the Husband before the marriage. Once I have done that, I must consider the extent to which they became matrimonialised. Finally, if they did become matrimonialised, I must decide in what proportions they should now be shared taking into account their provenance; the parties’ approach to them; and the other relevant factors in this regard to be found in section 25.51.I will therefore briefly consider the principles on which the courts have assessed quantification of the matrimonial property. The argument, of course, is that assets acquired before the marriage should be excluded from matrimonial property as being an “unmatched” contribution and, therefore, not be subject to the sharing principle. There are two main different approaches. The first can be described as the “broad-brush” approach and was articulated by the Court of Appeal in the case of