We are often asked the question of whether gambling, by a husband or wife, is taken into account by the court when considering how to divide assets in a divorce. The answer to that seemingly straightforward question is usually no, but there are some exceptions. In this blog post, Partner, Caroline Bilous, discusses how an individual’s conduct is taken into account when going through divorce proceedings.
The law says that conduct is considered where it would be, in the opinion of the court, “inequitable to disregard it” and where such conduct is “gross and obvious”.
One clear example of conduct that can be taken into account is where the conduct of one party to the marriage leads to a reduction in the family assets, therefore, leaving less in the ‘pot’ to divide. However, the court must be satisfied that there has been “wanton dissipation of assets” in order to be able to punish a person for behaviour such as gambling, reckless spending or other character flaws.
The court’s decision-making process is designed to have regard to all the circumstances and give first consideration to the welfare of any child of the family under the age of 18. The court must consider the needs of each party, such as housing needs, and will only be able to redress this balance where the assets exceed the needs of the parties. It is important to remember that ‘need’ will be measured by considering the available financial resources and the standard of living during the relationship; generally, the longer the relationship the more important the standard of living will be.
