The gloves are off!

The fight is on between Amir Khan and his wife Faryal Makhdoom over his £25m fortune after it was recently announced that they have decided to separate.

The question is how much of Amir’s fortune will Faryal get and whether it could it be as much as 50%?  It has been reported in the press that a pre-nuptial agreement entered into before the marriage was destroyed last year.

The couple married in 2013 and they have a daughter together. Faryal has recently announced that she is expecting their second child.

You cannot take it for granted that assets acquired and grown during a marriage will be shared equally if it is found that one party’s contribution to the marriage was so special that it would be unfair to ignore it.  Amir Khan’s lawyers are likely to argue that the huge amount of money that he has earnt in the ring was unmatched by the contribution made by Faryal as a wife and mother during the marriage and he should be awarded more than 50%.

Amir is also likely to argue that any wealth he earned before the marriage in 2013 should remain his.  The recent appeal decision in the case of Mr and Mrs Hart that we blogged about yesterday shows that even on long marriages there is no guarantee that assets will be split equally when one party to the marriage has brought in more money than the other. In that case, Mr Hart who had over £2m when the couple married was awarded more than fifty percent. Mrs Hart’s appeal against the decision was refused by the Court of Appeal yesterday.

So, what’s the moral of the story if you want to keep hold of your hard-earned wealth? Get a pre-nuptial agreement or even a post nuptial agreement and don’t lose it or destroy it like the Khans allegedly did. Also, so far as you can, try to keep your finances separate and avoid intermingling of monies.

Oh, and make sure you get a good lawyer who knows what they are doing. If cracks have appeared in your relationship and you are worried about losing some of yours or your partner’s wealth come and see one of our experienced divorce lawyers at Chapman and Pieri Solicitors.