The test for whether there had been constructive desertion was: ‘Was the husband guilty of such grave and weighty misconduct that he must have known that his wife, if she acted like any reasonable woman in her position, would in all probability withdraw permanently from cohabitation?’
Roskill LJ said: ‘The parties having chosen to fight the case in this way, the judge was obviously bound to find, as he did find with the utmost care, where he thought the truth lay on every one of those allegations which had been launched before him by way of charge and countercharge over so long a period.’
Judges:
Roskill LJ
Citations:
[1964] 1 WLR 1483
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v W CA 18-May-2005
The claimant had been married with children. Her husband was accused of abuse of the children, and bailed to live away from home, and then convicted and imprisoned. The claimant applied for income support on the basis that she had been abandoned . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Family
Updated: 30 April 2022; Ref: scu.226122
