Wife ordered to pay full indemnity costs for hiding assets in pre-nup
The Court of Appeal ruled that Jenny Helliwell’s deliberate failure to disclose her true wealth amounted to fraudulent non-disclosure, breaking the terms of their wedding-day agreement, which required each party to leave the marriage with only the assets they brought in.
A wealthy woman who concealed most of her £66 million fortune in a prenuptial agreement has been ordered to pay full indemnity costs for her legal battle with ex-husband Simon Entwistle.
The Court of Appeal ruled that Jenny Helliwell’s deliberate failure to disclose her true wealth amounted to fraudulent non-disclosure, breaking the terms of their wedding-day agreement, which required each party to leave the marriage with only the assets they brought in.
Entwistle, who successfully appealed a lower court’s decision to uphold the agreement, was awarded £400,000 in settlement. Following the ruling, his lawyers sought more than £665,000 in legal costs, arguing that Helliwell’s deception was intentional and far from reasonable conduct.
While Helliwell accepted responsibility for paying the appeal costs, she opposed having them assessed on an indemnity basis. However, Lady Justice King, Lord Justice Moylan, and Lord Justice Snowden found her conduct “well out of the norm,” noting she misled both her former husband and the court and even advanced self-serving explanations tied to her and her father’s tax affairs.
The judgment reinforces the court’s expectation of full and frank financial disclosure in pre-nuptial agreements, warning that deliberate concealment will attract the severest cost penalties.
