England: husband ordered to pay wife 100 per cent of assets after ‘washing hands’ of family

Essam Aly, 54, an anaesthetist, left his wife, Enas, 46, three years ago and relocated to Bahrain.

He has not paid child maintenance since 2012 but has now been ordered by a family court judge to give his entire fortune to his wife.

Judges in the Court of Appeal upheld the award which has been called “an extraordinary departure from equality”.

The pair married in 2002 and had two children. However, they separated in 2011 and Dr Aly went to Bahrain, began a relationship with another woman and had a child.

Mrs Aly had complained at Birmingham family court last year that her husband had “abdicated responsibility” for his family.

Lord Justice McFarlane said the award was necessary because there was no likelihood Dr Aly would make any future maintenance payments.

Louise McCabe, for Dr Aly, complained of “substantive unfairness” in requiring him to hand over “100 per cent” of the couple’s assets.

She said: “The court has an obligation to consider the husband’s needs.”

But Lord Justice McCombe, who sat with Lady Justice Macur and Lord Justice McFarlane, said there were few options open to them.

He said: “What was the judge supposed to do, faced with a serial defaulter, to make proper provision for this family?

“The wife is looking after the children and the father has washed his hands of them.”

The outcome was welcomed by Marilyn Stowe, of Stowe Family Law, who said: “We are regularly contacted by desperate people who have tried and failed to enforce child support orders abroad. The process is expensive, lengthy, cumbersome, and so most give up and never see a penny.”