Affluent father fails to reduce child maintenance payments

A man who enjoyed an affluent lifestyle by borrowing and using his capital reserves has lost his appeal to have his child maintenance payments reduced.

The man is married and lives with his wife and two children. He also had a child with another woman but never lived with her. He agreed to pay the woman a lump sum and then make annual payments to help care for the child.

She later suspected that he had more money than she originally thought and made an application under the Children Act 1989 to have the maintenance payments increased.

The father responded by applying for the maintenance payments to be reduced so they were in keeping with his modest income and argued that he only maintained an affluent lifestyle for himself by borrowing and using capital.

However, the judge said it was unreasonable for him to enjoy such a lifestyle at the same time as trying to argue he could not afford to make the maintenance costs for his child. She dismissed his application to reduce the payments but also rejected the mother’s application to have them increased.

The father was ordered to pay the mother’s costs on the basis that he had failed to disclose the reality of his financial situation so it was not surprising that the mother was deceived into thinking that he was wealthier than she first thought. Had she not been misled in this way she would not have tried to have the maintenance payment increased and so would not have incurred the costs.