A ground-breaking multi-million pound divorce ruling will affect all sections of society, both rich and poor, according to a York barrister.

The House of Lords upheld Melissa Miller's £5 million settlement from the £17.5 million fortune of her fund manager former husband, Alan Miller. The couple divorced after less than three years of marriage.

The Law Lords also reinstated a £250,000-a-year settlement awarded to Julia McFarlane, following her divorce from £750,000-a-year tax accountant Kenneth McFarlane, after 16 years together.

Joanne Crossley is the resident barrister at Langleys Solicitors, in York, specialising in matrimonial, property and finance law.

Speaking about Wednesday's judgement, she said: "I don't think it's just going to be the super-rich who are affected by this. It's going to have an effect on all divorce settlements.

"Although it's being billed as a landmark case, it's really the final step towards a fair and pragmatic approach."

She said the case marked a move away from a "needs-based" approach, recognising that it is unfair to meet only the basic needs of one spouse - usually the wife - and leave the other to benefit from the surplus.

But this is not just a payday for women. "At the upper end of the scale, you're talking about stay-at-home mums being the winners. But at the lower end, it's men who will be getting a better deal," she said.

"When I was first in practice, the woman would get the house, and the man the pension.

"But that meant the man had no immediate money to set up home again. Now the pension and the house are being shared, so men do have money to start again."

Mrs Crossley said the Law Lords' decision on Mrs Miller's case was important.

"That's a significant change. We'd reached a stage where assets had been split equally, but only for long marriages - where you'd put your time in," she said.

"But the Law Lords decided that caused a problem about where you draw the line.

"If you take the personal aspects out of it, the Miller case is important because it means marriage carries responsibilities.

"If you marry someone, you make changes to your work and lifestyle and it's not fair for judges to force one partner back into their old way of life. Marriage creates expectations and responsibilities - and most of these are financial."

Updated: 08:51 Friday, May 26, 2006