Family court rejects wife’s “ridiculous” request

Mother of two, Ekaterina Parfenova had requested that the £64,000 instrument be shipped from the family home in New York to London so that her children could continue to learn to play. Mr Justice James Holman said that the suggestion was “silly and ridiculous” and granted ownership of the Steinway to Miss Parfenova’s estranged husband, the millionaire lawyer Richard Fields.

“Children do not need to play Steinways,” said Mr Holman, sitting in the High Court’s Family Division. “Neither is a concert pianist and any children hammering away do not need a Steinway Baby Grand.

“I am simply not going to say that piano is going to be shipped from New York to England. She is not going to get the piano.”

Miss Parfenova has already been offered £80,000 to cover her share of the furniture in America. But she also staked a claim to the instrument, claiming it was the one item she wanted to take from the residence.

Mr Fields’ legal team argued that the Steinway had particular value to him because he had bought it to replace a similar model which he had lost in a previous divorce settlement.

The couple married in 2002, but their relationship later broke down and they obtained a degree nisi two years ago. The court must now decide how to divide up their £6million fortune.

Miss Parfenova, a former beauty queen, has demanded a £2.6million cash settlement and maintenance payments of £500,000 a year.

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