Husband in divorce case jailed for failing to reveal pension details

The husband in divorce proceedings has been jailed for 19 days for failing to provide details of his pension.

Shannon Bateson, Associate Solicitor in our family law team reports on this recent case.

The husband, referred to as “H”, was found in contempt of court after repeatedly ignoring orders to submit Form E and the Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) of his pension. These documents are critical in determining the financial settlement.

Judge Dodsworth noted that H had failed to appear at previous hearings and had not provided any medical evidence to justify his absence.

The case reached a critical point on 1 March 2024, when the judge found H in contempt of court. Despite the court granting him an additional eight weeks to comply with the orders, he continued to disregard the directives, prompting further legal action.

On 28 March 2024, a hearing was scheduled to address his non-compliance.

However, he neither attended the hearing nor responded to the court’s attempts to contact him. The judge noted that H had sent a derogatory email to his wife the day before the hearing, further exacerbating the situation.

Due to his persistent defiance, a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Judge Dodsworth outlined the range of penalties available to the court, including custodial sentences, fines, or asset confiscation.

However, after considering the seriousness of the contempt, he determined that only an immediate custodial sentence would be appropriate.

He emphasised that imprisonment is warranted in cases of serious flouting of orders of the Court.

The judge imposed a 21-day sentence, taking into account H’s lack of engagement with the court and his failure to provide any mitigating evidence. Two days were deducted from the sentence, as he had been arrested and spent a day in custody on 22 March 2024, following the issuing of the first warrant.

This left H with 19 days of immediate imprisonment.

For more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of family law please contact Shannon on 01228 516666 or click here to send her an email.