Our family law team appealed a divorce settlement in the Supreme Court to help Varsha get financial support after a long, complicated divorce. With our support, she’s finally been able to turn stress into peace of mind.
Varsha’s story starts all the way back in 2002, when she separated from her then husband. The couple had three children who were ten, eight and six years old at the time and lived with Varsha as the divorce got underway.
The Original Settlement
After two years of intense financial wrangling, in 2004, Varsha agreed her original financial settlement.
Before the divorce, Varsha was mainly a homemaker and hoped she could continue a similar lifestyle, caring for her children without having to work outside the home. But the original settlement wasn’t enough to allow this.
Varsha had no choice but to just pick herself up and get on with her life and with raising her three children. She studied law and completed a degree and a Legal Practice Course (LPC). She was looking forward to a new career in law to provide for her children.
A Glimmer of Hope
In 2008 Varsha applied to have the original financial settlement set aside.
Varsha won the set-aside when it finally went ahead. She felt she now had a chance to get a fairer financial settlement.
The First Appeal
Varsha’s ex didn’t accept the set-aside decision and went to the Court of Appeal in 2013 to try and get it overturned. He succeeded, and the court reinstated the original settlement.
But Varsha didn’t give up. Thanks to her legal training and because she was really hands on with her case, she was confident that she could appeal again. But she also knew that the time was ticking to make her own appeal.
“For a long time after the Court of Appeal decision, I couldn’t even bear to think about my case. But then one morning I just decided that I had no time to waste feeling sorry for myself and resolved to take back control of my case. I knew I had to appeal so then in comes Ros.”
The Supreme Court Application
Varsha had heard about a similar case through the legal grapevine. Ros Bever, family law partner at Irwin Mitchell, had got permission to appeal a case in the Supreme Court for another client, Alison Sharland. Varsha was determined to try for a Supreme Court appeal herself in any case, but decided to give Ros a ring to see if she could help.
Ros was on holiday when Varsha called so she left a message with Ros’ assistant not really expecting to hear back if she’s abroad. “When Ros called me straight back, I was amazed and it’s a moment that I’ll never forget” said Varsha – Ros not only called her from her holiday in Spain, but there and then, Ros agreed to help Varsha apply for permission to appeal.
They had a very short window in which to apply for permission to appeal. But luckily, Varsha had used her legal knowledge to put together a file with all the key evidence. It covered the whole chronology back to 2002 and gave Ros everything she needed.
Ros got the permission to appeal and quickly assembled a team for the Supreme Court appeal hearing itself. It was a huge relief for Varsha to have the support she needed. “She just took over and it was so lovely because I was worn out having gone through months of torture, pain, worry. I was literally in a depressive state and Ros just picked me up and got me there.”
“A Real Milestone”
In 2015, Both Varsha and Alison won their Supreme Court appeals with Ros’ help. Varsha’s set-aside order was reinstated allowing Varsha to continue pursuing a new financial settlement .
The Supreme Court decision has given Varsha not only peace of mind but a much more positive view for the future.
“The children were the most important people for me to consider, and they still are,” she says. “I feel relieved that against the backdrop of our complex lives and epic litigation I have had to manage, they’ve all finished their education and I can now make good their own lives. The Supreme Court judgment was a real highlight but 2015 was also the year that all three children started university and seeing them all finally off on their own life journeys was another huge milestone for me and so satisfying.”
Memories of the support from Ros and her team have stayed with Varsha as she continues her legal battle. “Ros is just lovely,” she said, “It’s exactly what you need – an empathetic, soft, kind-hearted lawyer when you’re going through all of that. You really do need that and with Ros and the rest of the team at Irwin Mitchell, I had that.
“They had a heart, they weren’t just lawyers doing their work. They cared – they cared about me and they cared for me, and they were happy for me.”
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