Domestic abuse and conduct in financial remedy: MRU v ECR [2025]
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Yael Selig
Table of Contents
Summary:
Key takeaways
- Conduct is rarely relevant in financial remedy unless it is exceptional and unfair to ignore
- In MRU v ECR, the wife’s serious offending affected how the home sale proceeds and costs were dealt with
- The court still applied needs and fairness, including pension sharing and a clean break
Case summary
The morality, or otherwise, of the conduct of parties in a divorce is not for the family courts to arbitrate. However, where one party’s conduct is particularly serious, the judge may consider it significant enough to justify increasing the other party’s award or ordering that party to pay costs.
Such cases usually involve the husband’s conduct, but a recent decision was made after the judge found the wife’s very serious conduct justified a reduction in her financial award.
What’s happened?
The parties in MRU v ECR [2025] EWFC 218 married in December 2009 and separated in June 2021 (the judgment has been anonymised). They were together for around 20 years and, by the time of the final hearing, their three children were aged 5, 7 and 9.
Source
MRU v ECR [2025] EWFC 218 (Family Court), Financial Remedies Journal
The wife had subjected the husband to domestic violence and coercive behaviour, for which she served a prison term. She is out on licence and living in supported accommodation. The children live with their father.
The sale proceeds of the family home were being held by the husband’s solicitors, though each party had received an interim payment. Both parties had pensions. However, both parties also had significant debts which outweighed their respective needs. It’s worth noting that the wife’s debts included her criminal defence costs; however, the judge made clear that it was unconscionable for the husband to have to contribute toward the defence costs of his abuser, and they were removed from the calculations.
The court had to decide how the parties’ pensions and the balance of the proceeds from the sale of the family home should be divided.
Conduct
The court must consider several factors when determining a fair division of assets (s25 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973). One of those factors is where one party’s conduct is such that it would be inequitable to disregard it.
Four types of ‘conduct’ were helpfully identified by the court in OG v AG [2020] EWFC 52. In this case, the wife’s convictions, guilty pleas and subsequent prison sentence fell squarely within the first scenario – where “there is gross and obvious personal misconduct meted out by one party against the other…”.
The judge, reflecting her conduct in the final award, granted the husband the entirety of the balance of the sale proceeds to buy a home for himself and the three children.
He also made a pension sharing order in the wife’s favour of his pension in the amount of 98% to equalise the parties’ pensions; and ordered a clean break. She was also ordered to pay the husband’s costs of the hearing of £7200 within 28 days, given her conduct.
What does this mean?
This case is a clear and obvious example of how serious conduct is likely to impact an award on divorce. However, the financial remedies court is not “a court of morals”, and will only take conduct into account if it’s inequitable to disregard it.
The judge will need to carefully consider the alleged conduct when deciding whether it should be taken into account under s25 MCA. The four types of conduct that arises in financial cases are:
- Where there is “gross and obvious” personal misconduct meted out by one party against the other (normally, but not necessarily, during the marriage). This can include economic misconduct.
2. ‘Add-back’ jurisprudence, which arises where one party has wantonly and recklessly dissipated assets, placing them out of reach of the other party.
3. Litigation misconduct, which can be severely penalised when it comes to costs.
4. Drawing inferences as to the existence of assets from a party’s failure to give full and frank disclosure. Such conduct is taken into account when computing the value of assets rather than final distribution.
How we can help
Cases like MRU v ECR show how complex and fact-sensitive financial proceedings can become, particularly where serious allegations of conduct are involved. Specialist advice at an early stage can be crucial in protecting your position and achieving a fair outcome. For expert legal advice on divorce and financial proceedings, contact our divorce financial settlement solicitors by:
- completing our online enquiry form;
- or calling us on 020 7485 8811
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