A woman who recently won a divorce award of £48 million should have been entitled to as much as £65 million, according to a leading family QC.

Beverley Charman made legal history when the Court of Appeal upheld the size of the payout from her husband, John. But James Turner, QC, told the Bar Conference that on the principle that the couple had entered their marriage with nothing, and all the wealth was accumulated during the marriage, it was arguable that Mrs Charman was entitled to not less than half of her former husband’s assets.

“So if the principle is sharing equally, why did she not get 50 per cent of his assets?” Mr Charman’s wealth was estimated at about £130 million, including money put into a trust fund for his children. He had argued that the trust fund should not be included in the calculation when determining his assets.

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