The ex-wife of a top London barrister has approached the courts to challenge the ‘totally inadequate’ £27,000 she has been paid annually since 1991.
Philippa Vaughan and her husband David Vaughan parted company 30 years ago. But Ms Vaughan claims that her leading QC ex-husband still lives the millionaire lifestyle while she has to settle for handouts.
Last year, a Family Division judge refuted Ms Vaughan’s complaints and refused to reward her with a lump sum from Mr Vaughan’s finances while terminating the payments.
But the 66-year-old is now taking her claim for £560,000 in unpaid maintenance to the Court of Appeal.
Ms Vaughan’s barrister believes that initial divorce proceedings failed to properly assess the wealth of Mr Vaughan and that a lump sum will offer a “fair and appropriate” income of £60,000 a year for the disgruntled ex-wife.
The pair separated in 1981 and divorced in 1985. Mr Vaughan, who now lives with his second wife and children, is one of the nation’s leading European Law authorities and many have accused his former wife of greed in recent months.
“No, I think it's very unfair that my case has been portrayed like that and I've been misrepresented,” replied Ms Vaughan. “This has all been very traumatic and trying.”
Mr Vaughan’s legal team have argued that Ms Vaughan, who lives in a £1 million home in Hammersmith, West London, and received a £770,000 inheritance from her parents, has more than enough to live on and should no longer be the responsibility of her ex-husband, who gathered much of his wealth after their divorce.
The couple’s case will be heard this week.
Mandy Rimmer, partner and head of the family and relationships team at Stephensons Solicitors LLP, said: “This case is somewhat unusual but does show the issues that can arise when the Court has not been in a position to affect a clean break between parties. The dispute can rumble on for many years and last far beyond the actual divorce itself.”
Stephensons’ Family and Relationships team can assist with the broad spectrum of family law issues. The team is one of the largest in the North West with 28 solicitors all dedicated to resolving family related problems.
