In January 2010 a business tycoon’s estranged wife (Lisa Imerman) won the right to use 20,000 documents stolen from his computer in her battle for a slice of his £300 million fortune.
In July 2010 Lisa was told she now cannot base her claim on thousands of documents downloaded by her brothers from her husband’s computer.
The recent judgment effectively says that helping yourself to documents belonging to your partner for use in divorce could become a thing of a past with many spouses now being able to hide assets which would otherwise be brought into account in the divorce settlement. Spouses who find documents or emails revealing their husband's/wife's wealth cannot use them in divorce trials. It is now considered unlawful, could breach a person's rights and also be a crime.
Divorce lawyers are calling this judgement and a ‘cheat's charter’.
Judith Middleton, Family Lawyer at Latimer Hinks said speaks out
Multi-millionaire Divorce Sparks Law Change
