Chancery issues in family proceedings

Chancery issues in family proceedings

Wilberforce has a deep and long-established reputation for handling the Chancery issues which arise in divorce, relationship breakdown and Schedule 1 claims. Our members are regularly instructed alongside specialist family practitioners, and by spouses, civil partners, cohabitants, family members, trustees, companies, beneficiaries, creditors and third-party intervenors.

Our barristers combine technical expertise in trusts, company, property, pensions, civil fraud, insolvency and asset recovery with experience of the practical demands of family litigation. We are used to working as part of multi-disciplinary teams and to providing focused advice at every stage: from early asset analysis and disclosure strategy to interim relief, preliminary issue trials, FDRs, enforcement and appeals.

Areas of expertise include:

• Trusts in financial remedy proceedings, including sham, validity, variation of nuptial settlements and whether trust assets are a financial resource
• Offshore trust and company structures, including firewall legislation, trustee participation and applications for directions or blessing relief
• Beneficial ownership disputes involving family homes, investment properties, landed estates, businesses and partnership assets, TOLATA claims
• Claims by and against third parties, including parents, siblings, trustees, companies, nominees and business associates
• Schedule 1 claims involving trusts, companies, property, luxury assets and international enforcement
• Company and shareholder issues arising from relationship breakdown, including minority shareholdings, directors’ duties, business valuation and implementation of Wells-sharing orders
• Interim relief, including freezing orders, receivership, disclosure orders, restrictions and preservation of assets
• Enforcement of domestic and foreign judgments, orders and awards, including cross-border asset tracing and recognition issues
• Pensions and offshore pension structures, including pension sharing, trustee disputes and competing creditor claims
• Inheritance, probate and succession issues arising during or after matrimonial finance proceedings

Members of Chambers have acted in a wide range of significant matters in this field. Recent examples include Michael v Michael [2024] EWFC 463 (sham trusts and the effect of appointing new trustees); Michael v Michael [2025] EWFC 244 (appointment of a receiver directly over company assets); DR v ES [2024] EWFC 176, a preliminary issue trial concerning beneficial ownership of properties and businesses; Copinger-Symes v Copinger-Symes [2024] EWFC 415, involving third-party intervention, conditional gifts and mistake; TP v OP & ST [2026] EWHC 1179 (Fam) (preliminary issue on the validity of a third-party loan), Bourlakova v Bourlakov [2024] EWHC 1937 (Ch);  Rotenberg v Rotenberg [2024] EWFC 185 (concerning ownership of a Surrey property and resulting and constructive trusts); JK v LM [2024] EWHC 1442 (Fam) (Schedule 1 case involving a Czech multimillion-pound trust) , freezing relief, restrictions and LSPO); Akhmedova v Akhmedov [2020] EWHC 3005 (Fam) (search orders in long-running proceedings to enforce a financial remedy order); Haya Bint Al Hussein v His Highness Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum [2021] EWFC 94; TP v PRBP [2018] EWHC 2433 (Fam), involving trustees of a £400 million trust in divorce proceedings; Versteegh v Versteegh (2016) (Wells-sharing order in respect of a multi-million-pound company held in trust).