Horse Laugh

We have all heard of spouse maintenance and child maintenance, but now in landmark ruling reported in The Times an ex spouse a wife has been awarded a new home and £50k a year maintenance for her horses.

Mr Justice Potter upheld the district judge’s ruling and said that providing the husband remained in the City “with an income to match”, then “it was not right to expect the wife to work full-time so she was left with no time for her horses or her eventing”, which both agreed had been a major feature of their lives.

Umm..

Updated 24/9/08: It makes more sense on reading the judgement, S v S [2008] EWHC 519 (Fam)

The joint net assets to be shared were £3m. The wife is to spend £1m on a property leaving £400k to invest and provide an income of £20k per annum. Her future earning capacity is £12k and spouse maintenance of £50k was awarded to meet the wife's budget of just under £80k. This leaves the husband with £900k to buy a flat in London, £500k to invest and provide an income of £25k plus £160k income, giving a total income of £185k. After paying his wife £50k he will be left with an income of £135k.

Mr Justice Potter added "....it is important that the wife should appreciate this, was that, if the husband was made redundant or in fact acted upon his stated desire for an early retirement in two or three years time, it would be reasonable for the wife to continue to maintain her horses at his expense. On the contrary, in those circumstances they would become an unjustifiable extravagance. For my part, I would observe that the wife should realise that it would be both foolish and ill-advised not to start planning for her future now on the basis that.."