[2025] EWHC 2997 (Fam)

The husband says (in closing) the wife needs c. £90,000 p.a. for her and the children once she is in a mortgage free property. The wife says the figure is about £180,000 p.a. She does, as I have said accept that in 13 years, when the youngest child will have left university (without any gap year), she will have had time to become self-sufficient.

The husband in his Form E advanced a figure of about £200,000 p.a. for himself and the children. There are some points of difference between the parties’ needs, given the medical care he needs on the one hand, and him being spared the cost of a car on the other. Nonetheless it is a comparable figure and a marker of standard of living.

Mr Boydell does rightly point out that this outgoing schedule was before the damage done to the parties’ finances by litigation on two fronts, the renovation of Property A and the consequential build-up of the DLA.

Mr Boydell relies on the fact that the wife managed, with her utilities and rent paid, on £4,000 a month, i.e. £48,000 pa.

I will deal with this figure in very broad terms, and consider it in the light of the findings I have made as to the husband’s income – remembering always that he has a large DLA which will need to be repaid and he will need to meet his own accommodation and living costs from his income, as well as school fees.

Broadly I consider the figure of £120,000 pa appropriate for the wife and children. It is necessary to mark out the figures for the children because they will be payable for different durations. I put that figure at £10,000 per child per annum. (I would direct that when they are at university child maintenance is paid as to 1/3 to the wife and 2/3 to the child.) That leaves £90,000 as needed by the wife.

The interim maintenance will be in place until the sale of Property A. Then in relation to spousal maintenance I would deduct the £14,500 (net salary) and £2,200 (child benefit) from the £90,000 giving £73,300 or in round terms £6,100 per month for 3 years. It then reduces by £15,500 per annum (the increase of earnings) to £57,800 per annum in round terms £4,800 per month.

As to the duration of the spousal income provision. I bear in mind the length of the marriage. I do note that there is a statutory steer towards a clean break. I note that the husband’s capitalise calculations are predicated on 11 years. In closing Mr Boydell clarified that the provision was to cover the wife till the conclusion of the first year at university of the youngest child on a ‘straight through basis’. Although I cannot assume that he would apply the same logic with my different figures I consider that there is sense to his timing. The spousal maintenance will last till June 2036.