By Anthony Jones, Solicitor 

…and she hails the English legal system as superb! This is unsurprising since she has just shared her husband’s fortune estimated to be £550 million. 

Galina Besharova, 52, married Boris Berezovsky 18 years ago but separated after 2 years of marriage.  Mr Berezovsky is an oil millionaire and they have two children together.  Mr Berezovsky has been living with his girlfriend for the past 16 years but decided to issue divorce proceedings after his girlfriend was constantly being referred to as his wife.  Ms Besharova  and Mr Berezovsky reached an amicable agreement which was approved by the High Court last week.  Mr Berezovsky was also pleased with the amicable settlement (perhaps because he probably maintained a larger proportion of his fortune) stating that he had been proved right in believing in the British justice system.

It is likely that he would have argued for a greater share of the assets on the basis that it was he who brought the assets into the marriage.

The Court continues to have a wide discretion in relation to resolving matrimonial assets and any ultimate settlement must always be judged against whether the agreement itself is fair.  The Court in this case believed that it was fair and both parties for once were happy with the ultimate settlement.

For help if you are considering court please contact Anthony Jones on 01625 531676 or email anthony.jones@chafes.co.uk