Ex-wives court win over husbands' value could have wide legal implications

Updated

Two ex-wives who say they should get more money after divorcing have won a Supreme Court victory which legal experts think will have wide implications.

Alison Sharland, 48, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, and Varsha Gohil, 50, from north London, both said their ex-husbands had misled judges about how much they were worth.

Both wanted their claims re-analysed at fresh hearings. Their ex-husbands disagreed.

Supreme Court justices, who analysed the disputes at a hearing in London in June, ruled in favour of the women.

Mrs Sharland said she hoped that the ruling would send a message to divorcing couples. Mrs Gohil said other wives owed her lawyers a debt of gratitude.

Legal experts said the ruling could "open the floodgates" and "fire the starting gun".

The Supreme Court heard that both women had reached agreements with their ex-husbands after beginning litigation, but both subsequently thought that they had been misled.

Mrs Sharland had accepted more than £10 million in cash and properties from ex-husband Charles, 54, three years ago.

Mrs Gohil had accepted £270,000 plus a car from ex-husband Bhadresh, 50, more than a decade ago.

The court heard that Mrs Sharland claimed she was misled her over the value of a business.

Lawyers said she had thought the business was valued at between £31 million and £47 million but reports in the financial press put the value at £1 billion.

Mrs Gohil's husband had been convicted of money laundering following their divorce.

Neither woman has yet said how much they now want.

Supreme Court justices indicated that both women's claims would return to the High Court for further consideration.

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