[2025] EWHC 2997 (Fam)

The wife has a debt to Lawrence Stephens of £38,302 and owes £4,500 as a costs order I made. I will not take my costs order into account. I made that order because I considered her conduct in relation to the debt to Lawrence Stephens warranted it. She can absorb that cost herself.

She wants funds to pay the £38,302. They are costs arising because of these proceedings between the parties. They are a debt she will have to meet. The husband argues that her conduct in these proceedings, in particular multiple delays that she has caused by not producing her Form E, warrant her needing to deal with this sum. As Mr Lewis pointed out the husband’s own litigation conduct has now meant he cannot run that argument. I agree. I will factor them into the money that the wife is to recover from Property A.

I note that I am leaving the wife with her student loan. This, as I understand it, does not require immediate payment and will be met by gradual payment from income once that has exceeded a certain threshold.

There is an issue which was not explored as to whether the husband should meet university costs as well as school fees. I have already said that he should carry on paying child maintenance while the child is at university. I am not going to require him at this stage to meet university costs. Given the ages of the children and the consequent uncertainty as to what costs might be and how they might be met that will need to be considered nearer the time. As things stand it does appear that he is likely to have the much bigger income and so if it falls at that time for one of the parents to meet the costs it is likely to be him. I entirely anticipate that if he can readily afford those costs he will agree then.