I, MAKE OATH and say as follows
1. I am a the Respondent in this matter and make this affidavit in accordance with the directions made by Judge X in August 2006 to file and serve a narrative Section 25 affidavits in anticipation of the Final Hearing fixed for the end of October 2006.
2. The contents of this my affidavit are true to the best of my knowledge and belief and I am that this evidence will be placed before the court.
3. I am now aged 42 and, my wife L, is aged 43. We married on 10 August 1988 and separated in January 2005. Accordingly we lived together as a married couple for 16½ years.
4. When we first married our financial contributions were more or less equal with us both serving in the Forces earning broadly similar salaries and purchasing a property in Plymouth. In 1991 L left the Forces and her gratuity of £13,000 was invested into the property. She then worked for (COMPANY) in Birmingham for approximately nine months earning £24,000 per annum and gave up fulltime employment in 1992 when we moved to Tunbridge Wells where I had secured work earning £23,000 per annum. We bought a property for £84,000 using our respective gratuities and improved it with the help of L’s father.
5. In 1995 I joined (Company) on a salary of £33,000 per annum and two years later joined (Company) earning £38,000 per annum. In 1996 our daughter, H, was born and this would not have been the possible without expert help and L’s tenacity and dedication for which I will always be grateful.
6. Whilst the arrival of H brought great joy to us it did not repair the cracks that that were already apparent in the marriage. Indeed, in 1998 I obtained a job in High Wycombe with (Company) on a salary of £45,000 and due to the difficulties at home, lived away from the family home during the week in High Wycombe and only returned at weekends. In 1999 I had a mental breakdown and left work. After three months out patient care at The Priory I joined a business start up with N D and C B which will be dealt with later in this statement.
7. At this stage I returned to the matrimonial home and the initial success of (Company) allowed us to move to (Location) and purchase (House) for £425,000. The previous property, was sold for £243,000 some four months later.
8. By 2002 the marriage had further deteriorated in part due to Lindy’s relationship with JP that had spanned two distinct periods when she had worked for him, the latter being 2002-2003 plus the lack of a physical relationship that I had tried to address. During this time we sought marriage Guidance counselling. In these circumstances, In 2003 I attempted to purchase a flat in Tonbridge in order to separate. However when L discovered this she accused me of having another woman which was not the case and I agreed to withdraw from the proposed purchase and attempt a reconciliation. Whilst the income from (Company) was in the region of £100,000 gross and provided for the family there never seemed to be any savings and L was not satisfied with the sums being earned. Furthermore I felt increasingly alienated, especially as L was unwilling to have a significant physical relationship with me. When I was unsuccessful in the purchase and L discovered my plans I believe the marriage effectively finally broke down.
9. In 2004 my mother and Step-mother died within 1 month of each other and the business was beginning to struggle. I accept that at this time I was probably clinically depressed and felt I was coping alone. Furthermore my step-mother’s estate became contested and led to intense litigation between my brother and I. Given the increasing distress I at this time faced and the lack of empathy at home I acknowledge my brief liaison with a prostitute in November 2004. I do not seek to condone this behaviour and bitterly regret it. However, it was symptomatic of the situation and my frame of mind at that time.
10. In January 2005 I informed L that I felt the marriage was over and that there should be a divorce. I went to the County Court and obtained the relevant papers which we both agreed and signed regarding access and childcare and things were managed satisfactorily between us for the most part. At L’s request I left the matrimonial home on 25 January 2005 and for a short period of time things seemed reasonably amicable with both of us being fully involved in our daughter’s welfare, schooling and upbringing. However, this changed on 23 March 2005 when there was an incident at my business premises following L’s discovery I was going to Poland the following day on holiday. L arrived at my offices with H, without prior notice, having spoken with the Company’s Accountant. She demanded that I meet with her in the presence of H. I was unhappy about this, especially as it became clear that L wanted me to admit my extra marital affair directly to the child and staff which I felt was totally wrong and inappropriate but not unusual of L’s habit of trying to humiliate me in public which had been a feature of our marriage. A significant argument ensued and I was barred from leaving the room by L. I was compelled to move her away from the door so I could get out which, again, created a struggle between the two of us. Ultimately we separated with H leaving with her mother. Both I and L reported the incident to the Police but no action was taken. However I was informed by WPC Thatcher of Tonbridge Police that she had informed Social Services of their concern over H’s wellbeing after receiving persistent telephone calls from L.
11. As mentioned above, this incident marks a major turning point in my relationship with L and the history of this matter. After a short while L asked me to return to the former matrimonial home and try and reconcile. When I declined she became more aggressive and verbally assaulted me in Sainsbury’s car park in Tonbridge telling me that if I were to drive away and not speak to her I would never see H again. This has proved to be the case.
My Current Financial Circumstances
12. After I left the former matrimonial home on 25 Jan 05 I lived for 6 month in a property and helped renovate it for sale in lieu of rent. In May I purchased a two bedroom flat at (location) and moved in 1 June 05. The property cost £184,000 and the purchase price was met primarily from a mortgage which now stands at £161,562. After the removal of funds from the joint account by L to stop this I had to take money from (Company) to secure the deposit and legal costs. I deliberately purchased an affordable two bedroom flat in catchment of both (School) and (School), which would enable me to have contact with my daughter, H on the basis that I would be continuing to work with (company) from our office premises in (location).
13. Unfortunately my business relationship with my business partner deteriorated during the early months of 2005 as he informed me that he was finding the situation untenable and he felt he was running the business singlehanded. I acknowledge that I was finding the breakdown of the marriage extremely difficult to deal with and so my eye was certainly not on the business. He told me in July 2005 that he was not prepared to continue the business in its current form and that he was going to set up another business on his own account called (Company)Ltd. Whilst I was unhappy about this development I could understand his views and hoped that it would be possible for me to salvage a reasonable amount from the company I had helped to establish.
14. I do not propose to go into detail about the company’s break up within this affidavit as I am aware that both the Company Accountant, J, and the Company Book-Keeper, have already produced sworn statements. However I did not anticipate that when the company broke up that the employees would go with Company B and had assumed (sadly incorrectly) that some of the staff would come with me. As it is, they chose not to and this has had a very significant impact upon my business which has continued to trade under the (Company) name.
15. In essence I have gone from being a joint Managing Director of a company with a small but committed staff of eight people to a Sole Trader with no staff save for my Book-Keeper who works on a part time self employed basis. The net effect of this is that I have been unable to build up the business and have had some difficulty in simply delivering on the contracts that had already been entered into prior to the break up in September 2005. I have been fortunate in having one significant piece of work from Reuters who are my only significant client who fortunately paid for this work on account. I have therefore been delivering this work during the last few months and been able to fund both the business costs and my own costs from the money held on account. However, I have not been offered any similar “heavy” work either by Reuters or by any of my other contacts. There is currently no booked work beyond mid November.
16. It is extremely difficult for me to predict what income the company is likely to generate. However, I do not think it is realistic for me to be able to repeat this year’s performance given that I have no similar contracts in the pipeline nor the company infrastructure to enable me to deliver the work required without sub contracting which will obviously reduce the profit element. I can deliver some work myself but not the amount required to deal with any “heavy contracts” and to enable me to market the company brand at the same time. I therefore think it more likely than not that I will work on an ad hoc basis with existing clients as an associate trainer to other companies. In terms of likely realistic net income I think I should be able to earn something in the region of £60,000 at best. This is based on acting as a sole trader and delivering 100 paid days consulting a year which is the most I have ever delivered in any single year.
17. The only other significant financial resource which is potentially available to me is the equity in the former matrimonial home. This is a five bedroom semi-detached property in (location). Some time ago the property was valued at £535,000 and I am currently awaiting an up to date valuation as ordered by the court although the estate agent has suggested to me that its value has probably not increased over the last year or so. I am not sure how much remains due on the mortgage because the mortgage company are only prepared to send such details to the house and L has not sought fit to forward such information to me. As at February 2005 the mortgage stood at £92,000 and so it would appear as though the property has net equity of about £440,000 .
18. Insofar as my liabilities and debts are concerned these can be broadly summarised as follows. (redacted)
My Medical Circumstances
22. I suffered from depression following the Gulf War and as mentioned above had a mental breakdown in 1999. I have been prescribed Paroxitine which is anti depressant medication and refer to the medical report that I have filed with the Court. Since the break up of the marriage in 2005 I was hospitalised with a stomach ulcer and have undergone a knee operation. In addition, following a court appearance I was admitted to hospital with palpitations and was placed on a heart monitor overnight. The doctors advised me that they thought this was stress related.
23. In general terms there is no doubt I have found the last year or so extremely difficult to deal with. Indeed there are a number of elements and in particular L’s conduct and denial of my contact with H which have resurrected some of the spectres of my own childhood. Whilst I appreciate it may be of limited relevance, I would like the court to be aware that when my parents separated I was denied any contact with my mother for a period of seven years and therefore am more than aware of the difficulties that such non contact can create for children. Furthermore I believe that L’s decision to prevent me from having any contact is influenced by her knowledge of my own background and the inevitable agony such lack of contact will cause me.
24. On a physical level I suffered a serious knee injury whilst serving in the Forces for which I receive a war pension of £1,000 per annum. The knee has been operated on three times and precludes me from most sport and physical activity. The last operation was in March 2005. It continues to deteriorate and the problems have led to a deterioration of the other knee further reducing my mobility.
25. I was hospitalised in September 06 for a week with severe stomach pain which turned out to be an inflamed gall bladder and 15mm gall stone stuck in the cystic duct. I am currently on a waiting list for this to be operated on and the gall bladder removed. This is expected to be November or December.
The Financial Resources and Needs of Resident Parent
26. Despite her protests through the last ten years of our marriage that she could not get a fulltime job and that she would be unable to find such work, L has now had two jobs since late 2005 and her current job (which has either started or is about to start) will allegedly provide her with a basic annual income of £45,000. However no evidence of this new employment has been provided and I am unclear as to whether or not L will also receive bonus payments. I understand that the tax regime is preferential compared to the United Kingdom and suspect that L’s basic income will be in the order of £45,000 net. She may also receive on top of this child benefits although I do not have details of these nor have they been provided. I should mention that childcare provision is provided via L’s aunt and uncle who live next to the school that H attends and I have no reason to think this will not continue.
27. My understanding is that Jersey law will preclude L from purchasing a property. She has asserted that she will rent a property at a cost of £1,400 per month although no documentary evidence of this or where precisely the property will be located have been provided despite requests for the same.
28. If L were to return to the UK then I believe a two bedroom property in a similar area to where I am living would cost £170,000-£230,000 whilst a three bedroom property would cost approximately £300,000.
29. L provided a schedule of outgoings since her Form E which was prepared on the basis that she was living in Jersey. It suggested income requirements in excess of £100,000. She was asked to provide a sensible schedule and has not. As a result I do not know what she asserts her reasonable income needs to be. However I view the schedule of outgoings provided previously as being inflated and excessive.
30. As to her capital resources L ‘owns’ a flat at (location) which in her Form E she says is worth £165,000 although that is currently in the process of being re-valued. The significant point regarding this capital resource is that the capital payment made by L ( approx £46,000) derived from money which she earned working for the Royal Navy Reserves together with money which I believe she must have taken from our joint account over the years given she has had no significant income for the last ten years of our marriage. Thus what I earned contributed totally to the family whilst what she earned was spent on her expensive tastes or removed beyond reach. I will deal with both these points under the heading of Conduct. The remainder of the purchase price was met by way of a mortgage for £120,000? which I understand is being funded by letting out the property.
31. I am also aware that L has, in the last few years, run three separate court applications. I am aware that she issued proceedings against her former employer, The Royal Navy, and that this matter was settled out of court but I have not been provided with satisfactory evidence as to how much L actually received. She has issued a personal injury claim against a hotel chain in London but, again, I do not know the result of this action. She has also recently settled a claim against her previous employer, The (company), for unfair dismissal in the sum of £16,000 although no evidence has been provided as to how or when this money was paid.
32. L also, of course, has an interest in the former matrimonial home referred to above and in the endowment policy as this is apparently held in joint names. In addition I am now aware that L has opened a number of different bank accounts over the last few years which I had no previous knowledge of and, to date, have not been provided with satisfactory disclosure regarding them or the transactions within them.
33. In the longer term I believe L will receive an inheritance from her mother who is now aged 72
Harriet
34. At present my daughter, H, is living with L in Jersey. I do not know where she is living or in what circumstances despite numerous requests for this information. I will of course continue to provide support for her. I should mention that I have constantly offered to pay additional one off costs that are appropriate on the basis that I pay the third party concerned direct due to previous difficulties with L. However I have not received any invoices or bills and have therefore been unable to make these payments. Please note I am continuously accused by her counsel that I have refused to pay. It is a matter of record this is not true.
35. Until H’s removal to Jersey she was being educated privately at (location). L and I had agreed that our aim would be for H to take the 11+ exam and be successful in obtaining a place at the grammar school in (Location) (hence the purchase of the flat at (location) in the catchment area and after our separation my choice of (location) as this was in the catchment for both (schools). Whilst I remain of the view that it would be best for H to return to the UK to sit the 11+ in January 2007 it looks as though she will now remain in Jersey. I believe that H’s education needs if in Jersey would be best met by her attending a local State funded school called which is a mixed school with an outstanding Head and excellent reputation. L on the other hand wishes her to attend the fee paying (school) which I understand does not have the same reputation it once did.
36. I would like to be involved in H’s schooling but fear that any attempts I make to speak to H’s school will be claimed by L and her solicitor to be harassment and turned against me. As a result I have no confidence I will in fact be able to undertake the full role that I feel would be in H’s best interests.
Conduct
37. I am aware and recognise that during the last eighteen months my conduct has not been all that it should have been. I therefore wish to take this opportunity to apologise to the court for any disrespect shown as that was not nor is it my intention. As mentioned above I have found the last eighteen months or so extremely difficult to deal with and feel this has been deliberately exploited and exacerbated by L and her legal advisors.
38. As I have mentioned above L has denied me contact with my daughter and I have not seen her or had any contact at all since 6 January 2006. Contact in 2005 was limited to court chaperoned visits of 3 hours most of which were sagotaged or withheld. I have therefore been denied contact for 18 months. I have suggested meetings via mediation with L but these have not been accepted nor have my proposals for developing contact to an acceptable level. In addition L has chosen not to include me in decisions relating to our daughter’s welfare nor do I believe she has taken any active steps to encourage contact. She has removed the child from the jurisdiction and holidayed abroad without informing me and now denies me even to know where my daughter is living. I have found all of this absolutely devastating and regardless of all the difficulties there may have been between L and I had genuinely hoped that our daughter would not end up in the crossfire which she has. L’s behaviour in this regard has had a very significant effect on me emotionally and psychologically to such an extent that there have been times when I have simply wanted to give up everything that I have struggled to build up over the last few years. This is a very major issue for me and I deeply resent the suggestion made by L’s solicitor that I “abandoned” my Children Act application. The fact is that I chose to withdraw the application in the genuine hope that this may enable a sensible dialogue to emerge. Regrettably it has not and there is no sign of the situation improving in the near future.
39. As mentioned above I say that L removed (without my agreement or discussion) £30,000 from the joint account which she has used for her own purposes. The background to this is that when my step-mother’s estate was settled £90,000 was paid into the joint account. Despite the fact that L and I had separated I agreed that £10,000 of this money would be spent on buying a Honda CRV motorcar for L. As I had promised before the break up to replace her car. Without discussion L removed £75,000 and allegedly paid a proportion of the mortgage on (home). On discovering this I was very unhappy and we agreed £45,000 (that being 50% of the original inheritance) was left to reduce the mortgage and it was agreed that £30,000 would be returned to me and then used by me to pay a deposit / legal costs for my flat. However as things turned out L removed the £30,000 immediately it appeared in the joint account and transferred it elsewhere alleging (later on in cross examination ) that it was for the repayment of a loan to her mother. I do not accept this and no meaningful evidence has been produced to support this assertion. The net effect of all of this is that I have had to draw money from Company to fund the deposit for the purchase of my flat. This has been done by way of a dividend payment and has artificially inflated my apparent income because this money should have been left in the Company.
40. When L and I separated I agreed to pay her £2500 per month by way of maintenance on the basis that she would deal with the mortgage and household bills. However I then found out that rather than paying off the mortgage L made no payments at all and transferred the money into her own account. As a result on August 2005 I stopped paying maintenance other than the £500 for H that I have paid without fail; because I had no guarantee as to how the money was going to be used. The mortgage has not been paid into for over 14 months.
41. L has also deliberately overdrawn the joint account and then refused to let it be closed. In the same way she has deliberately refused to allow any adjustment to reduce the cost of the mortgage payments or reduce the interest by rationalising the mortgage which I organised.
42. Since October 2005 L has been living in Jersey. However she has not agreed to me returning to the property to enable me to rent out my flat and thereby earn additional income. In the same way she has not taken any meaningful steps to rent out the property itself to earn an income and cover the spiralling costs. I understand that an offer of £1,900 per month rental was made but that L did not agree to this because the people concerned had a dog. I therefore submit that L has deliberately squandered opportunities to earn income when these have reasonably been available.
43. I say that L has deliberately contacted friends of ours and business contacts of mine with a view to frustrating my attempts to build up or continue with (Company). I believe that in each instance she has made exaggerated and/or untrue claims about me which has in turn prejudiced the view that these individuals have of me.
44. I also believe that L and potentially her friends or members of her family have hacked into my company and personal email in order to cause damage to the companies and my own personal reputation. I was informed of this by my IT provider and provided the Police with the evidence. They informed me that they had insufficient resources to deal with it and would not progress the case. However I say that the fact that L has raised a question in her recent Questionnaire regarding “Jonathan Collins” is proof of the hacking as this information was only available through my personal email account. I therefore put her to proof as to how she discovered I had any connection with Mr Collins.
45. I also believe that L has deliberately used the court process and in particular Family Law Act applications to try and intimidate me and create difficulties for me. In particular I believe that her motivation for issuing a committal application earlier this year was designed to try and frustrate me going abroad to develop my business activities. This is consistent with her previous behaviour where she has made untrue and unfounded allegations to the Police.
46. I respectfully ask that in dealing with the ancillary relief matters arising out of my marriage to L that the above issues are considered by the court.
Sworn at )
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this day of 2006 )
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