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ARTICLE · 07 JULY 2017

Sharp Focus On Short Marriage And Sharing

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The length of the marriage matters. That is the message from the Court of Appeal in Sharp.

United KingdomFamily and Matrimonial
Jemma Thomas
Jemma Thomas
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The length of the marriage matters. That is the message from the Court of Appeal in Sharp. Prior to this decision, the general approach was that assets accumulated during the marriage should be shared equally between the parties, unless there is a good reason not to. The length of the marriage was not considered to be a good reason, due to Lord Nicholls remarks in the House of Lords' decision in Miller/McFarlane: 'A short marriage is no less a partnership of equals than a long marriage.'

However, the Court of Appeal in Sharp were keen to emphasise that Lord Nicholls was a lone voice on that point in Miller/McFarlane and that the other justices were of the view that a short, childless, dual career marriage could be a good reason to depart from equality.

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