The set up seems believable. And yet:
A Jewish businessman has criticised the Family Court for putting him in a Catch-22 situation over a divorce ruling which allegedly traps him between family law and religious law.
Alan Moher, 54, was ordered to hand over a £1.6million lump sum to his wife Caroline, 46, by the Family Court and told he must also pay her £1,850 per month in maintenance payments until he grants her a ‘get’ – a document that officially ends a marriage under Jewish law.
However Mr Moher, of Salford, Greater Manchester, claims that a get is only valid if it is granted ‘freely’, while he is being put under pressure to provide it by the continuing maintenance payments.
As an aside, is Moher a derivation of mohel? At which point we’re in cliche territory, no?
Anyway. Judaism does maintain its own courts and they do deal with exactly this sort of thing. Not sure, there might even be separate Sephardi and Ashkenazi such. Anyone know? But that would seem to be where to go get a ruling. Is such continuing maintenance until a get a bar to the get being granted freely?
Well Rabbi?
Which is where the hint of a suspicion arises that using the secular courts to fight this is trying it on a bit.
Is the cliche that we shouldn’t offer him any tips?
Surely the law of the UK is more important than some Sky Fairy business, isn’t it? Oh wait, I might now lose my Labour Party membership for being anti-semitic, or maybe not.
Sky Fairy? Old Yahweh was more of a Sky Fascist.
This it to do with the Divorce (Religious Marriages) Act which allows a party (in practice the wife) in a Jewish marriage to delay a civil divorce until a religious divorce (‘get’) is granted. That stops the husband using his power to withhold the religious divorce against his wife. The Act was welcomed by the Chief Rabbi.
IANAR, but note that Rabbinical Courts in Israel have considerable power to put pressure on a reluctant husband to grant a religious divorce. Revoking his driving licence is a common tactic.