Case No. LS20P01640

39.The mother looks to the father for significant financial support for Zoe. She does not work, currently, and has modest means of her own. In her reply to questionnaire in October 2021 (and confirmed in oral evidence to me) the mother accepted that she has an earning capacity; however, as the implications of Zoe’s health have become more and more apparent over the last two years, she has modified her views: “[The mother] also acknowledges that that situation will not last forever, and that it would be necessary for her then to do all she can to support herself once Zoe starts regular and structured schooling, so long as that work accommodates her primary commitment to Zoe. As to what her earning capacity might then amount to, it would be necessary to be realistic bearing in mind the length of time she has been out of the workplace (as to which see below), the fairly limited time she was in it, the marketable skills she has and the need for her to be available for Zoe during school holiday periods and when unable to attend school for whatever reason. … [The mother] has not been in paid employment since 2017, when she did some PA work for [XXX] (a high-end interior designer) for a few months.”40.The mother seeks several forms of financial relief from the father for their daughter (see §11 above). The value she attaches to that claim has been consistently pitched high; at the outset of the proceedings (2020), I found her interim budget to be “overvalued and in some respects unrealistic”. She continues to present her case unapologetically high and in so doing she heavily relies upon the extreme wealth of the father and his standard of living. She points to the fact that the father’s net wealth is/was measured at somewhere around $100m3 (per his ‘Form E’ December 2020) to $130m (per his first statement in November 2020); in the Form E he asserts that his estimated net annual income would be £3.75m. She describes his “opulent” standard of living; she further refers to the fact that “[h]is friends are the rich and famous, and he is renowned for being a fabulous entertainer”. She has produced many photographs of the luxurious home where he lives in the USA; the Form E reveals that it is worth more than $35m, but I note that it is/was subject to sizeable mortgage. The mother references the father’s use of a private jet, his lavish entertaining, his staff support including “world-class” chefs and a butler reputedly earning $250,000pa. She points to the fact that his monthly ‘housekeeping’ budget for himself and his staff/guests is £78,007.52 (per the father’s Form E: December 2020); his monthly outgoings (ibid.) overall are c.£180,000. She invites me to make a comparison between this extraordinary level of expenditure and her proposed budget for the household comprising Zoe, the nanny and herself. 41.There is no doubt that when the parties were together the mother liberally used a credit card provided for her use by the father; there is now a conflict of evidence between them about the extent to which this spending was encouraged or discouraged by the father. Insofar as it may have been relevant to the issues under consideration, in the absence of the father I have not been able to resolve it; suffice it to say that for the period of their relationship the mother was the beneficiary of extravagant high-end spending consistent with the standard of living which the father appears to enjoy. In support of her claim for Zoe, the mother further points, inter alia, to a package of financial support which the parties were negotiating as a form of pre-nuptial settlement, in the event that she and (the yet unborn Zoe) had returned to and/or remained living in the USA. Under the terms of the proposed deal, the mother would have received from the father the sum of $15,000pcm (£12,5004) to enable her to rent her own property close to the father’s home, $120,000 as an annual tax-free allowance, with further expenses (including $25,000 (£20,800) for designing and furnishing the apartment, and $5,000 (£4,100) for designing and furnishing Zoe’s nursery).42.The father, incidentally, accepts the figures which I have set out in §41 above, but now says that (a) he could little afford them even when he proposed them, and (b) he would not have accepted them but for the promise that the mother would return to the USA: “The offer was not financially viable for me, but it was one that I felt I had no option but to agree to, in order for [the mother] to return to America with Zoe (who had not yet been born)”.43.The mother has made two formal open offers to the father in an attempt to resolve these proceedings; one was made in March 2022, and the more recent offer was made in December 2022. Mr Thorpe naturally focused on the later of the two. I thought it nonetheless instructive to consider the proposals side by side and this appears in tabular form as an appendix to this judgment. The key features of the mother’s case are:i)Housing: Zoe should be enabled to live in St John’s Wood in a property purchased by the father and settled on Zoe for her childhood, until she has completed tertiary education; the mother now seeks a budget of £4m (net of purchase costs and SDLT5) in this regard, a higher figure than the sum she sought 12 months ago (which she says was proposed following “a broad sweep of properties in the North West London area”). In her December statement she refers to the fact that “the approximate price bracket of living in a suitable property in the St Johns Wood area and surroundings is between £3.8m and £4.25m”. She seeks a lump sum for refurbishment and redecoration of the property (£75,000), and prospective lump sums (2 x £25,000) for future redecoration;ii)Moving fund: The mother seeks a £7,500 moving fund;iii)Nanny: The mother currently relies on a nanny, as she has done throughout Zoe’s life; she has provided a full account of the demands on her day in looking after Zoe, summarising their lives (statement: December 2022) as follows:“Caring for Zoe is a full-time job and one that I am not able to do on my own. I need the assistance of a nanny to help me look after her and to make sure her daily routine runs smoothly. Keeping Zoe in a settled routine and in a familiar and safe environment is the first big hurdle for any day. Without the assistance of a nanny, I would not be able to cope and I would be concerned about further delays to her development.”The mother claims the cost of a nanny until Zoe is 11 years old and into secondary schooling. The current costs of the nanny is £71,500pa. She emphasises the significant emotional and practical toll on her, as a single parent with no emotional or practical support from the father, in caring for Zoe given her special needs;iv)HECSA: The mother asserts a periodical payments’ claim (a HECSA) (see above §20) in the sum of £174,372pa, a 16% increase on her claim since last year; within the household budget the mother claims sums for the maintenance of her home, food and household items, clothes, domestic help, car and transport, and personal expenditure;v)Nursery/schooling. The mother proposes that Zoe continues at private nursery and then moves on into private day schooling in London. In fairness (and in response to the father’s case – see below) she told me that she keeps an open mind about state vs private education in the future: “… it’s about what’s best. If it is state – fantastic. If it is private – great. I’ll be guided by what is best for her.” (My note of her oral evidence).Given Zoe’s developmental needs, she requires to be supported in her education from a 1:1 personal teaching assistant in school; it is possible that the 1:1 supervision will be funded (even in a private nursery/school setting) by the local education authority which is currently conducting a Special Education Needs assessment of Zoe;vi)Debts: The mother has debts, many of which are unpaid legal bills, for which she seeks a lump sum from the father;vii)Medical / health insurance: She requests that the father makes provision for this for herself and Zoe.viii)Therapies: The mother seeks a sum (£5,000pa) to cover the cost of therapies for Zoe (physiotherapy, speech and language, occupational health); this is included in the HECSA;ix)Flights to/from USA: She requests that the father pay for business class flights and all costs of accommodation for Zoe, the mother and nanny;x)Security: The mother seeks an order that the father take out life insurance in the sum of £8m or a lien on his home.