A woman has been told by a Judge to “get a job” and that she cannot be expected to be maintained by her former-husband any longer.
The couple divorced in 2008 and as part of the financial settlement, the husband had to pay his wife maintenance of over £33,000 per year for her needs (£75,000 overall). The husband, a cutting edge equine surgeon, applied to the court to reduce the maintenance he had to pay as he was worried about how he would afford it once he retired.
The wife challenged this, saying that her responsibilities of looking after animals, trees and housekeeping prevented her from working. She also said she had care of the parties’ 10 year old daughter which also prevented her from working.
However, the Judge found that there was no reason at all why she should not work and was not impressed that she had made no effort to find work in the 6 years since the divorce.
Nicola Whitley, specialist divorce Solicitor says, “The days of spousal maintenance for life are pretty much over. The world of work has changed significantly in the last few decades that there is no reason why women cannot work and have child-care responsibilities. That is not to say that an imbalance in income should not be rectified, but there is a duty to make sure that both parties do everything they can to maximise their income and not just sit back and care for animals and trees”
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