A High Court judge has ruled that a wife should keep the family home and receive a lump sum of just over £3.4 million following the end of a 28-year marriage.

The judgment, delivered by His Honour Judge Edward Hess, concerned the financial settlement between ED and AP, who married in 1995 and have four adult children. They have lived in England since shortly after the wedding.

The wife, now 60, has been a full-time homemaker for nearly three decades and has no realistic earning capacity. The husband, 65, continues to work in senior positions within a private-equity firm and has significant assets, including future entitlements linked to his employment.

Family home transferred to the wife

The court agreed to the wife’s request to stay in the family home, valued at £6.95 million. The judge said the husband retained enough liquid assets to rehouse himself comfortably, and there was no reason to prevent the wife from remaining in what she described as her “domain”.

To achieve equality between the parties, the husband must pay her £3,443,771, a figure adjusted to reflect the costs he is likely to incur when buying a new property. A second property abroad will be sold, with the proceeds divided equally.

Sharing future financial interests

A central part of the case involved dividing several private equity interests the husband holds through his work. These payments may arise in future and depend on the performance of investment funds.
The judge ruled that the wife should receive:
• 50% of any future payments from one fund (known as Fund A2),
• 30% from another (Fund A3), to reflect work the husband carried out both before and after separation,
• A share of any payments from a third fund (Fund B1), at 50% for some elements and 30% for others.

She will also receive 50% of certain trust-based awards made up to the end of 2024. A limited sharing arrangement applies to the husband’s synthetic equity in his firm, though this may never produce a payment.

Loan arrangement

The husband borrowed a substantial sum in 2022, expected to be repaid from future fund income. The wife must cover 35% of any repayments made. This will be secured by a charge on the family home, which can be transferred if she moves.

Clean break

Once the lump sum and future sharing arrangements are in place, the parties will have a clean financial break. The judge said the overall settlement achieves a fair division of the assets built up during the marriage.

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Case: ED v AP
Court: Central Family Court
Judge: His Honour Judge Edward Hess (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge)
Citation: [2025] EWFC 399
Date of Judgment: 23 September 2025