A multimillionaire and his wife are going through a hotly contested, expensive divorce in which the parties are disputing property division and support issues. Hardly surprising or unusual.

The couple currently live in the UK, although they reportedly manage, quite legally, not to pay any taxes on their wealth. Much of the Husband’s wealth is tied up in trusts.

The couple have two children who have financial interests and needs. But how to protect them from their parents battle?

The British court awarded the children UK 30,000 pounds to retain legal counsel to protect their interests – at taxpayer expense.

A British judge commented that it is “exquisitely ironical”. Those probably aren’t the words British taxpayers would use.

Except for the attorney for the children, which is not so common in conventional family cases, the case is not that different from many cases where the parties have far more modest means.

For example, one spouse is paying a fortune to its lawyers to avoid paying anything to the other spouse – and succeeding too well so far.

Read more in this UK Guardian article: Children of multimillionaire given legal aid in divorce battle.