The High Court has ordered a letter of request to be sent to the judicial authorities of an EU member state so that offshore trust documents can be sought in a divorce financial remedy case.
Key facts
- Who: Spouses in financial remedy proceedings where the other spouse may benefit from an offshore trust, and the trustees of such trusts
- From: 9 July 2026
- Source: TR v ST (Letters of Request) [2026] EWHC 1785 (Fam)
In TR v ST (Letters of Request) [2026] EWHC 1785 (Fam), Peel J in the Family Division of the High Court granted the wife's application to issue a letter of request. He handed down judgment on 9 July 2026 after a hearing on 2 July 2026. The letter goes to the judicial authorities of an EU member state, referred to in the judgment as "X Country". It asks a representative of the corporate trustees of an offshore trust registered there to produce specified documents.
Background
The couple married in 2011 and separated in 2023. They have two children. The former matrimonial home in the South West of England is worth more than £400,000. It is owned by a company, which is in turn owned by the trust. According to the husband, supported by a letter from the trustees dated 26 May 2025, he may live there rent free but has no beneficial interest. The wife also has none. Both spouses described their own resources as negligible.
The husband said that he and his siblings are beneficiaries of a dormant company, and that the company is a reversionary beneficiary of the trust. The only documents shedding any light on the trust were the trust deed and an organogram provided by the husband's solicitors. The wife said the husband could reach trust funds and was concealing the true position. At the first appointment in January 2026, the district judge ordered the parties to ask the trustees directly for documents. The judgment records that the husband said he held no trust documents himself.
The question
The court had to decide two things. Should it issue a letter of request for trust documents held abroad? And should the financial remedy case be paused until they arrive?
The decision and reasoning
The judge granted the application. He held that the documents are relevant and central to the main issue: whether the trust is a resource for the husband. They are specific and targeted, not a "fishing expedition", and are relevant and proportionate. The judge noted that the district judge's earlier order showed the documents' importance.
He cited authority that family courts should in principle be receptive to such applications where there is good reason to think useful evidence may be obtained. A letter of request should be issued only where it appears necessary to dispose fairly of the case or save costs.
The judge refused to stay the case. He could not be sure the request would be executed, and the timescale was unclear. Cases should not be held up indefinitely, though a short adjournment may be appropriate. The court may ultimately have to rely on the evidence available. It may also draw adverse inferences if dissatisfied with a party's disclosure.
He also noted that the application is made under FPR 2010 rule 24.12 and PD24A. Both the UK and X Country are signatories to the 1970 Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad. The requested state is obliged to execute the request, subject to limited exceptions. An application for a letter of request should normally be made when all alternative ways of obtaining the information have not succeeded, although every case is different.
What this means for spouses in financial remedy cases
- Where a trust sits behind the family's assets, the court can in principle seek documents from overseas trustees. The request must be specific, relevant and necessary.
- A letter of request should normally come when other ways of obtaining the information have not succeeded, though every case is different.
- A letter of request does not guarantee documents or a timetable. Cases may continue while the court waits.
- If a party's disclosure is unsatisfactory, the court may draw adverse inferences.
Sources
- TR v ST (Letters of Request) [2026] EWHC 1785 (Fam), High Court (Family Division), 9 July 2026