Sarah Hoskinson, a partner and Head of Family Law & Divorce at independent UK law firm Burges Salmon, has been part of the Duxbury Working Party, collaborating with Chair and leading family barrister Lewis Marks KC, retired High Court judge Sir Nicholas Mostyn, and a small group of other family lawyers and a chartered financial planner to undertake an independent analysis and review of the Duxbury calculations.
The Duxbury calculations have been based on the net amount the recipient spouse requires and a series of assumptions on investment return, inflation, capital growth, life expectancy and full state pension receipt, to calculate the lump sum to be paid to meet lifelong income needs, or in lieu of ongoing spousal maintenance. The court has used them as a “tool not a rule”, but family lawyers advise that it is near impossible to persuade the court to deviate from using them. They have been based on maintenance being paid for life, which is now out of kilter with the approach of the courts where spousal maintenance is paid on an ongoing basis, almost always now for a term of years, not “joint lives”.
The review marks a significant milestone in the capitalisation of maintenance upon divorce, updating the long-standing Duxbury tables which have been in use and yet have remained largely unchanged for the last 40 years. The Duxbury Working Party’s final report was published on 25 November, and it issues a set of recommendations aimed at family courts and features new tables for practitioners to use. Read the full report here.
Sarah Hoskinson comments: “The Duxbury calculations have long been a trusted resource to support and guide parties achieve fairness and financial independence upon divorce. It has been a real privilege to be part of the Working Party and contribute to this new report. The key change is recognising that Duxbury awards should no longer default to whole of life terms, in line with the approach of the courts to maintenance now largely ordered for a term. Family lawyers need to remember to give clear guidance to clients about this. Financial advice for the recipient client will be essential in terms of what they may actually receive, as with any investment vehicle.”
Burges Salmon’s Family Law and Divorce lawyers are recognised nationally and internationally as specialists for high value and complex work in marriage, civil partnership, cohabitation, separation and divorce/dissolution. The team advises high and ultra-high net worth individuals on complex financial settlements and asset restructuring on relationship breakdown and divorce.