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Divorce Law - Could You End Up Supporting Your Ex-Partner for Life?

on Friday, 15 February 2019.

Under the law that governs divorce - the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 - the courts must consider the duration of any spousal maintenance.

This could be term limited or on a 'joint lives' basis, meaning that the paying party must continue to support their ex-partner for the rest of their life or until they remarry or form a civil partnership.

In recent times, it appears that the overriding objective of the family courts of England and Wales has been to achieve complete economic separation of the parties, whether immediately or on a future date. We have therefore seen a trend towards term-limited maintenance orders.

In What Circumstances Is Joint-Lives Maintenance Appropriate?

In a recent legal case, the husband and wife had successfully set up a number of charities internationally in order to fundraise for tiger conservation. When their relationship broke down and the wife filed for a divorce, she claimed that one of the charities was set up not only to advance the cause of tiger welfare, but also to financially support the husband and wife in the long-term.

The husband disputed this and argued that the assets of the charity in question should not be considered in the proceedings as he was not able to extract any funds from it. The charity had assets worth tens of millions of pounds, and outside of the charity the couple had almost no assets.

The court determined that the husband was likely to benefit from the charity's assets, and awarded the wife periodical payments for joint-lives. Whilst the wife did have her own earning capacity, it was significantly more modest than her husband's, who would be able to earn a substantial figure for his advisory work for the charity, benefit from free accommodation provided for by the trust, and enjoy further employment opportunities with clients of the trust. The wife, on the other hand, was left essentially homeless, and owing a significant figure to her legal advisers.

In addition, the judge stated that the husband had been "dishonest, manipulative, arrogant, menacing and contemptuous of the court's authority" throughout the proceedings, and went as far as stating he was satisfied that the husband was colluding with the charity to hide something "significantly material in the finances of the trust".

It would therefore be unjust for maintenance to be term limited, on the basis that the husband was likely to acquire significant amounts from the charity following the divorce.

This decision affirms that joint-lives maintenance awards are still appropriate in certain, exceptional circumstances and this could pave the way for other such claims.


If you would like more information about the divorce process, please see our divorce FAQs. For specialist advice on your divorce, speak to Sam Hickman on 0117 314 5435, or complete the form below.

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