Dumped first wives take their revenge in drawn-out marital asset battles

DETERMINED first wives are fighting their cashed-up ex-husbands, going to great lengths to secure their share of the marital asset pool.

Ivana Trump

DETERMINED first wives are fighting their cashed-up ex-husbands, going to great lengths to secure their share of the marital asset pool.

It's an unofficial First Wives Club, like that from the Hollywood movie of the same name.

One ex-wife resorted to using salvage "pirates" to get back jointly owned boats her ex-husband had sailed out of Queensland after their 30-year marriage ended.

"I think he read the situation very wrong," she told The Sunday Mail.

"He didn't realise how strong and tough I would be," she said. Since being "traded in for a younger version", she has burnt $2 million over a decade on legal fees and packed supermarket shelves to fight for her share of a large, multi-million dollar Queensland business.

With a $20 million fortune tied up in trusts, she says she had no choice but to "stand up and fight". 

"It is humiliating, you lose your self-esteem and your self-worth and it is a huge emotional and psychological journey, but I hope I have empowered women along the way," she said.

She is now volunteering at women's shelters and telling her story to other women in their 50s and 60s who have had their marriage go "belly up" after 30 or 40 years. 

Another woman, married for 28 years, said she was volunteering at Kidsafe so she could get the Newstart Allowance because her share of a multi-million dollar property pool was frozen while her legal case was ongoing.

"If I walk away, I will get nothing," she said.

"It is about revenge for him because I haven't fallen over. His ego is shattered. No woman wants to think her life is wasted."

But some first wives are also bent on revenge.

boxing bride

David Walsh

One of the most famous first wives to get revenge was Ivana Trump who, after splitting with magnate Donald Trump, declared "don't get mad, get everything" in the 1996 film The First Wives Club.

Ivana Trump

However, Family Law Section chairman Geoff Sinclair said that revenge was not the reason women were doggedly pursuing their financial entitlements.

"I say to my clients it is not about revenge, it is about your financial future," Mr Sinclair said.

In one recent case, a wife suffered an emotional collapse after her ex-husband repeatedly appealed against property orders which dragged the case through the courts for 11 years at a cost of $1 million.

With studies showing that it takes women eight years to get back to their previous earning capacity after a marriage breakdown, counsellors say a strong support network is the key.

"Women can get strong from it and I have seen women learn they can rely on themselves and work out the money," UnitingCare Community senior practice adviser Joanne Trentin said.

Family law specialist Alison Ross said that 11 years was "by far the exception".

"I have also had the experience where women become stronger because of the experience," she said. Women's Legal Service lawyer Angela Lynch said it was "a warning to the younger generation to make sure you are across financial issues".

"You can be left in shock and there is a percentage who want revenge and are scorned and just can't believe it ... he has moved on and they are really not aware of the business operations," she said.

According to the latest figures, 20,651 applications were filed across the nation in 2011-12 in the family law courts seeking final orders.

During this period, there was an almost 2 per cent rise or 75 extra applications for final orders filed in the Brisbane registry.