Family law and the corporate veil: accessing company assets on marital breakdown after Prest v. Petrodel Resources Ltd

Abstract

When, if ever, can a company’s assets be used to meet the family law liabilities of private persons? This question has arisen infrequently in Irish law, perhaps because family lawyers tend to assume that assets held by family companies are relevant to financial provision on marital breakdown. This assumption may appear quite reasonable: why should a family be left in want simply because some assets, perhaps even the family home, are held through a company? This argument is strengthened where a corporate structure may have been used to frustrate family law obligations, or where one spouse was clearly the guiding force behind the company. Yet looking behind corporate structures is problematic, since it contravenes established company law principles and may impact hugely on company creditors.