CR v SR [2013] EWHC 1155 (Fam)
In the case of CR v SR, a husband has been granted leave to appeal an order which provided for the wife to receive the full benefit of the only substantial asset (the former matrimonial home), worth £375,000 net, in addition to an on-going joint lives maintenance order.
It was the husband’s opinion that this was an unfair balance, relying too heavily upon his future income and providing inequality between the parties. The husband argued that a more appropriate order might have been for an outright sale or a mesher type order.
The parties had been married for 16 years. The husband is 45 and wife is 46. There are three children from the marriage aged 6, 12 and 14.
There were also matrimonial debts to be considered of £20,000 in unpaid school fees, £19,000 in credit card debt and £13,000 of mortgage arrears.
The husband argued that it was inappropriate to have a joint lives maintenance order for the wife, and instead asked the Court to dismiss the wife’s claim for maintenance entirely, or alternatively grant a term order as this was more appropriate. The husband was not disputing that he had a duty to pay maintenance towards the children.
The wife’s response to the appeal was that the former matrimonial home should be transferred to her entirely and that the husband should pay her £2,000 per month for life, in addition to the maintenance orders for the children’s benefit.
Moylan J took the view that the husband had a real prospect of success in his appeal, stating that the orders made are “outside the bracket of reasonable orders” as they created inequality.
He went on to say that the Court must be reasonably cautious when making financial orders, particularly maintenance orders based on future incomes as such estimates of income may in fact turn out not to be achievable. The Court must exercise caution and ensure that any order made is (a) affordable and (b) does not result in an imbalance or undue imbalance between the party’s respective future financial positions.
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