How does the Court approach short marriages?

Generally, a marriage is considered to be ‘short’ if it was less than five years in duration. The Court will however take into consideration the period of cohabitation prior to the marriage if there was a seamless transition between the two.

Parties are more likely to be successful with ring-fencing non-matrimonial assets where there was a short, childless marriage but all assets acquired during the marriage are likely to be subject to the sharing principle unless there was an obvious separation of the parties’ finances. It is however important to note that a departure from equality of the matrimonial assets on this basis is likely to be rare given the Court does not discriminate between the breadwinner and the homemaker.

In cases where there are children in short marriages, the Court must give first consideration to the welfare of the child(ren), and the parties’ needs, especially in cases with limited capital, are likely to outweigh the argument of ring-fencing non-matrimonial assets. Needs after a short marriage should generally be viewed less generously than after a long marriage although, needs generated by the marriage must be met, even if it means having recourse to non-matrimonial assets.

The brevity of the marriage is just one factor the Court is to consider when ensuring a financial settlement is fair and reasonable and it is important to remember the same principles apply to each and every case irrelevant of the length of the marriage. As well as the length of the marriage, the court must look at each party’s earning capacity, all financial resources as well as unmatched capital contributions.  The Court must look at whether a party can adjust to financial independence without undue hardship and whilst due regard – must be  given to the length of the marriage, consideration must also be given to the need to care for any minor children and the effect this will have on the earning capacity of that party.

The Court has very wide discretion when determining the immediate capital needs and future income needs of the parties and the children of the marriage and each case will be fact-specific. The main rule that is applied is that, save in a situation of real hardship, “needs” must be causally related to the marriage.

Complex issues can arise even in short marriages; please contact us if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of family law.