Posted by familylaw on 23rd January 2013

Earlier this week Scott Young, 51, was sent to prison after being held in “flagrant,” contempt of court for failing to provide information about his financial circumstances.

Mrs Young had applied for maintenance, both for herself and for their two teenage children, who live with her. After many, many hearings, the court decided that Mr Young should be required to pay an astonishing £27,500 per month! At this point many of you may be aghast at this figure but consider this- Mr Young is said to be worth somewhere in the region of £400,000,000! Arguably he is not the sort of man who needs to be counting the pennies.

Rather than pay up, Mr Young continued to deny his astonishing wealth, claiming to be bankrupt. Understandably, rather than simply taking his word for it, the court said “prove it” and ordered Mr Young to provide evidence of his poverty. Mr Young declined to do so.

At a hearing earlier this week Mr Justice Moor decided that Mr Young’s excuses for not complying with orders to disclose his financial circumstances were “absurd” and that one reply he had provided was “next to useless”. The Judge had clearly had enough and in true Monopoly fashion, sent Mr Young directly to jail.

Although many of us can only dream of having access to the incredible wealth that Mr Young is said to have, this case is a cautionary reminder that anyone involved in financial claims, before the family courts, must disclose their financial circumstances when asked to do so. It is a brave (or foolish) husband or wife who says “no”. There is a good chance that they too may find themselves packing their couture overnight bag in anticipation of spending a little time at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

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