Villiers decision leaves the door open to divorce/maintenance split

Tourism over the summer months has become the impossible dream. But "tourism" in the sense of where to gain the best outcome for spousal maintenance is here to stay. That is the net effect of the decision of the case of Villiers issued by the Supreme Court today.

The facts of this case and issues are well narrated elsewhere.

Mrs Villiers made an application to the High court in England to address what maintenance should be paid to her. Her husband had already applied for divorce in Scotland as that is where they last resided together while married. Mr Villiers argued that the English Court did not have the ability to deal with the application for maintenance raised by his wife. He insisted that the Court in Scotland was the more appropriate place to decide such matters; it being accepted by both parties that Scotland was the right place to deal with their divorce.

The English Court decided that it could consider Mrs Villiers maintenance application and did. The Court of Appeal in England agreed.

And so Mr Villiers's took the matter to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court was asked to decide three main questions (and here comes...

Read the full article here.