Man gets $1.3m more in divorce after appeal over $13.2m in assets

A man who was initially awarded a 55 per cent share of $13.2 million in matrimonial assets following a divorce will now get $1.3 million more, after he partly succeeded in his appeal.

- Selina Lum

On Nov 18, the Appellate Division of the High Court increased the man's share of the assets to 65 per cent.

The court gave more weight to the man's indirect contributions to the family, and determined that the average ratio should be 60 to 40 in the man's favour.

The court then shifted the ratio by 5 per cent in the man's favour, after taking into account that a substantial portion of the pool of matrimonial assets consists of his assets he had acquired before marriage.

The man, a successful banker, had at least $5.4 million in savings when he got married. He mixed this money with income he earned during the 10-year marriage, and used the commingled funds to pay household expenses.

In 2023, a High Court judge rejected the man's argument that his pre-marriage funds should be excluded from the pool of matrimonial assets to be divided.

This was because the man could not produce the relevant bank statements to show how specific assets can be attributed to his pre-marriage funds.

The pool comprises assets worth $7.1 million in the husband's name, assets worth $3.9 million in the wife's name, and joint assets worth $2.2 million.

Although the man could not trace specific assets, the three judges of the Appellate Division accepted that he was able to show that a sizeable portion of the pool was attributable to his pre-marriage funds.