GGI Webinar | Divorce & Family Law SIG - 17:00 pm CEST

**PLEASE NOTE THE DATE CHANGE**

Chair: Jane Keir

Following on from our very successful GGI North American Regional Conference in Cleveland, OH, USA, in June 2024, we would like to assess what interest there might be amongst our member firms for the setting up a Divorce & Family Law Special Interest Group. It seems to us that such a group will have common and obvious links and synergies with a number of our existing Expert Groups such as International Taxation (ITPG), Litigation & Dispute Resolution  (LDR) and Trust & Estate Planning (TEP), as well as of course other common interest groups such as Best Practices for Professional Service Organisations, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) and Business Development & Marketing (BDM), for the following reasons:

• The number of international marriages, where the spouses have different nationalities and domiciles, has never been higher. Both before and after marriage, expert advice on tax and financial planning, will be required in the form of a pre or postnuptial agreement and on choice of forum for jurisdiction in the event of a divorce. The likelihood of one jurisdiction recognising another's rules for determining financial issues is a key concern and mandates international private client practitioners working with one another to protect the family's future wealth.
  
  
• Understanding how the rules of private taxation will apply to a couple is another extremely important consideration. Take for example the choices that need to be considered and made between US and UK nationals respectively. Add to the mix the fact that domestic tax rules and legislation are evolving constantly, not to mention the changes that are likely to follow on from a change of government following a national election, an the necessity for practitioners to be aware of and appreciate the changes is of critical importance.
  
  
• Important considerations as to where the divorce can and should be heard may be of equal significance. Some countries/states may have a regime of "common" or "separate" matrimonial property. In which state/country to proceed may mean the difference between matrimonial wealth being shared equally, or not at all depending on the pre-existing matrimonial regime and the country that succeeds in winning the jurisdiction race. "Forum convenient" arguments are very common and often involve adducing witness evidence from each jurisdiction.
  
  
• It is also important to understand the interplay between the rules applied as between national and international agencies which relate, for example to the international movement of spouses and their children (how many nights in each jurisdiction can they stay, can they get a visa and if so what type) or to the number of days/nights they can stay without triggering tax liabilities and penalties. Which considerations should prevail on a divorce is of vital importance.

The above examples provide us with some interesting areas where international advice and comparisons may be called for but the finer considerations are likely to be much more in depth and involved. We feel however, that they reveal areas of common interest and experience that are capable of consideration, review and sharing by our GGI member firms.