Though the revelation that individuals hide their money in overseas investments to shield it from divorce settlements was no big news to family lawyers, some believe that the press storm surrounding the Panama Papers may lead to a greater number of related claims being properly investigated during divorce proceedings.

'Any publicity about the problem makes it more likely it will be investigated properly,' says Nigel Shepherd, a partner at Mills & Reeve and incoming chair of family law group Resolution. 'When a lawyer is trying to present evidence about this to a judge who is sceptical about the time and money it would take to search for the assets, this publicity will be useful.'

The Panama Papers leak comes less than six months after the UK Supreme Court ruled in favour of two ex-wives—Allison Sharland and Vanessa Gohl—who believed that they had been deceived and shortchanged in their divorce settlements. Family lawyer Tony Roe believes that the precedent set by the cases, in combination with the media storm surround the Panama Papers, may lead to a greater number of settlements being challenged in court.

'The recent Supreme Court cases of Sharland and Gohil have encouraged some (former) spouses to consider seeking to reopen settlements. Obviously this is not an easy process and demands expert specialist analysis,' he warned.

'However, the Panama revelations can only add to this potential groundswell and are likely to feature in a good number of future divorce cases here. This leak should come as a warning to any divorcing spouses who might be being less than forthright about their finances.' 

Source: Law Society Gazette