"American Pie or English Roses?”
The gossip magazines are telling the world that Madonna may be entering divorce negotiations with her husband Guy Ritchie. They may have retained divorce specialist solicitors. If that is so, what will their lawyers be telling them? Amongst particular advice, it is likely that in such circumstances a first interview will look at:
- Where one spouse is a US national and the other a UK national, where should any divorce take place? It can be critical to the outcome of any financial settlement first to choose the most advantageous place for a divorce. It is often the case that the first person to file for divorce can fix the location and each country has its own rules on financial provision and the care of children.
- What is the law where one person has made more money during the marriage than the other? If any such divorce takes place in London then the law provides for a fair share to be paid from one spouse to the other, including such factors as respective contributions, length of marriage, and future needs.
- Is there any difference in the law where one child has been adopted, and there are other children born to the couple? In London there is no difference, and both parents would be expected to go on looking after the children and share responsibility for them including financial responsibility. It is likely that there would be agreement on custody (which is likely to be joint), and on the holiday and other arrangements for the children, but there are Court processes to resolve this in case of difficulty.
