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Published: 1st August 2017
The Court of Appeal has heard a plea from a husband who has argued that the wealth of his wife's father should be taken into consideration whendeciding upon the outcome of their divorce settlement. The couple, married for 14 years with three children, split in 2013.
The multi-million pound divorce settlement
Hossam Radwan, a former Goldman Sachs banker, has argued that he should not have to pay his ex-wife the proposed £2 million package and £5.5 million for a new home, due to the fact that her father is ‘remarkably wealthy’. Mr Radwan said that while he is rich, he is ‘much, much poorer’ than his former father in law.
Upon their divorce, Mr Radwan was ordered to pay £2 million to his ex-wife, Hayat Alireza, who was given the right to stay in their home. Refusing her a bigger settlement, a divorce judge stated that Miss Alireza was likely to inherit potentially more than £100 million when her father dies.
After appealing the decision, Hayat Alireza said that their £5 million apartment, whichoverlooks Kensington Gardens and the Royal Albert Hall, is too small and that it wouldn’t be fair to place the responsibility of looking after her onto her elderly father. Her representatives said that the judge placed an obligation on the father to care for his daughter, despite their being ‘no principle of law’ that she should become the responsibility of her birth family after her divorce.
What next for the ex-wife?
Miss Alireza accepted the £2 million payment to give her an income for 14 years, but did say that she wanted another £5.5 million for a new home, so that she could move into a bigger property that she would sell to provide her with more money to live on, once the initial £2 million runs out.
Mrs Justice Roberts approved Mr Radwan’s offer of £2 million, plus the ability to live in their home until her father dies, at the High Court in 2015. However, Miss Alireza believes that the judge was wrongto take her father’s wealth into consideration when making the decision, with her being entitled to a fifth of her father’s £500 million fortune once he dies, and despite failing to disclose a more accurate estimation of her inheritance when repeatedly asked. She went on to suggest that her father could go on to live for decades and that he should not be obliged to be financially responsible for her, particularly because her ex-husband is also rich.
Mr Radwan’s representatives suggested that, although he may be rich, his wealth is significantly less than his former wife’s fathers, saying: ‘This was a case of a husband from a wealthy Saudi family and a wife from an “extremely” wealthy Saudi family.’
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