Wife liable to pay large legal bill due to incurring “woefully excessive” costs in financial remedy proceedings

Fiona Porter and Shannon Maude consider recent financial remedy proceedings involving a post-nuptial agreement which confirm the importance of adopting a sensible approach to litigation.

Traharne v Limb [2022] EWFC 27 highlights the fact that parties must take a sensible approach to court proceedings or risk facing cost consequences as the wife did in this case.

Background

The parties met and entered into a relationship in 2008. Both had children from previous relationships. They commenced cohabitation in the summer of 2012 and married on 6 January 2013. The parties had a tempestuous marriage and spent periods of time living in separate properties.

In 2018 the parties separated and the wife petitioned for judicial separation. Negotiations took place in May 2018 but the parties subsequently reconciled and executed a post-nuptial agreement (“PNA”) in November 2018. The parties separated again in February/March 2020 and in July 2020 the wife issued divorce proceedings.

At the time of the trial the parties’ total assets were a little over £4m although they had been severely depleted by expenditure on legal fees totalling in excess of £650 000.

The issues

The dispute before the court was in relation...

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