Is a party’s poor conduct taken into account?

• High Threshold:
  The court will only take conduct into account if it is so serious that it would be unfair (“inequitable”) to ignore it. Ordinary marital misconduct (such as infidelity) is not enough.

• Serious Personal Misconduct:
  Examples include extreme violence or attempted murder, especially where it has a direct financial impact (e.g., loss of earning capacity).

• Financial Impact Required:
  The conduct must have a clear and identifiable financial impact. For example, if one party’s serious misconduct has led to a period of absence from work for the other party.

However, it should be noted that certain behaviours although not sufficient to invoke S25(g) may be considered via the ‘Add-Back’ principle.

• Add-Back:
  Where assets have been wantonly and recklessly dissipated, the court may notionally “add back” those assets to the matrimonial pot for the purposes of division. For example, if a party spends significant amounts of money on cocaine with the purpose of denying the other party a share of the monies used to fund the drug abuse.