Christmas Divorces - What happens to the presents?

As the magazine anticipated the famous festive flurry of divorces, Vardags’ president Ayesha Vardag wrote for SLOAN! Magazine about the interesting question of what happens to the Christmas gifts when couples separate.

Ayesha commented “Spiteful aggrieved husbands can often dig in their heels when it comes to settlement, extracting petty concessions on household items and gifts before signing off on a big financial payout.” She recalled that one “fought bitterly to retain ‘his’ lawnmower, despite the fact he was now living in a garden-less city flat.”

This intransigence was not, however, limited to the mail gender. “While men are often thought of as petrol heads, its increasingly common for wives to be attached to their cars – be they Chelsea tractors or high end sports cars. Often clients will fight tooth and nail to retain the Range Rover of their favoured Ferrari – or their ‘babies’ as they commonly call them,” Ayesha remarked.

Ayesha also discussed with the magazine the serious evidential value which presents can have, observing “As wives seek to demonstrate the lifestyle they enjoyed during the marriage the Cartier watches, Tiffany earrings and designer dresses can help bolster their case. Each old act of generosity can be utilised by the lawyers to gain a fair share of the marital pot.”

She concluded with the warning that “Whether they are cited as evidence, or fought over in negotiation, the presents will not remain under the tree but may well be under the spotlight as couples come to divorce”