Husband must double maintenance payments to former wife

The High Court has doubled the amount of maintenance a man must pay to his former wife because his income has increased considerably since they divorced six years ago.

The couple had been married for 11 years and had two sons. During the marriage the wife agreed to sacrifice her career to look after the children leaving the husband free to concentrate on his work. When they divorced they agreed on a one-off lump sum and periodical payments of £33,000 a year for the wife together with extra money for the two children until they were 17 or until they had finished their education.

After six years the wife applied to have the payments increased on the basis that her husband’s income had risen considerably whereas her earning capacity remained limited because she had devoted her time to bringing up the children.

The High Court held that the wife’s current earning capacity was indeed far less than it would have been had she continued her career after the birth of the second child. By staying at home she had enabled her husband to pursue his career and also spared him the cost of employing a nanny.

The couple’s joint decision that she should give up her career put her at a disadvantage financially and this should be taken into account in the payments she received from her husband. It was also significant that a large proportion of the child maintenance would no longer be available to her as the children reached 17 or finished their education.

The court ruled, therefore, that the periodical payments to the wife should be increased to £65,000 a year in keeping with the increase in the husband’s income.