In a case from 2023, the Judge was asked to determine the date of separation. The parties met in February 2007 and began to live together shortly thereafter, they married in June 2008. The husband left the family home on 16 August 2020, and moved into rented accommodation, and the wife issued a divorce petition on 27 March 2021. The parties did not live together again after 16 August 2020. The husband contended this period was a trial separation and therefore separation was the date of the divorce commencing in March 2021. The wife maintained that the date of separation was the date of the husband’s departure from the home in August 2020. There was financial motivation behind their pursuit of the key date. The wife’s financial position improved significantly after separation. As such, it was in the husband’s interest to have a later date of separation and it was in the wife’s interest to have an earlier date of separation. The wife held shares and options in a business. This business was a lot less successful and worth a lot less in August 2020 than it was in March 2021.