When dealing with divorce cases involving medical professionals, consideration often has to be given to their numerous strands of income and how this should factor into the financial settlement.
When it comes to the divorce and financial settlement of medical professionals, it is important that each discrete income stream is disclosed and that there is clear explanation around its frequency and the basis for its payment.
What do medical professionals need to disclose upon divorce?
Standard disclosure requires that three months worth of pay information is volunteered. It can sometimes be helpful to provide more information than this however, depending on the given case. There is an ongoing duty of full and frank disclosure when dealing with any divorce and so changes in remuneration in respect of any of the discrete income streams need to be communicated and disclosed as the case progresses.
If acting for the spouse of a medical professional faced with disclosure of these income streams, it is recommended that the information in respect of each income stream is considered on its own merits. Frequency of its payment, any variables that determine the amount paid, and the reliance that can be placed on it all need to be considered in respect of each source of income.
The various strands of income can be pulled together – often through the use of a bespoke Excel formula – to calculate the income or any maintenance requirement that flows from it, as needed.
What if you have various income sources?
The question of varying income sources was recently considered in the case of CB v KB [2019] EWFC 78, which involved a musician in a famous band and the various income sources that formed his total income payments. These included payments for performance, royalties in respect of composition and royalties for recordings or broadcasts. All of these income sources were considered in their own right in the eventual judgement and regard was had to all of them.
Whilst clearly the professions are different, the same principles do very much apply for medical professionals who can sometimes be in receipt of an income from private practice, consultancy, time on-call and other sources.
The team at Stephen Scown regularly act in cases involving medical professionals, both private and NHS. We have significant experience of dealing with the various issues that arise in their cases, not just limited to income issues but also very often complicated pension issues as well. When considering the instruction of a solicitor in a situation like this, it is important that specialist advice is sought so that crucial considerations are not overlooked and the right outcome is arrived at.
This article is part of a series of articles for medical professionals. Other articles include: