Pensions on marital breakdown Part 3: case-law – what does it tell us?

Beverley Morris
Partner/Solicitor, Collaborative Lawyer, Divorce and Family Law Practice LLP

George Mathieson
Mathieson Consulting

In this article we consider what guidance we can take from reported decisions which have involved pension aspects of a settlement. Prior to legislative enactments, Brooks v Brooks [1996] AC 375, [1995] 2 FLR 13 provided a partial solution where pensions were an issue but its usage was restricted. Brooks had involved an unusual pension scheme and turns on its own facts. The essential points about the pension were:

• it was set up after the marriage, it was therefore clearly post-nuptial;
• the husband was the only member of the scheme - no other beneficiary was involved;
• the wife had earnings of her own from the company which supported a pension for her of the relevant amount.

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