Monday, October 20th, 2008
The award was made after the court was told that she was devoted to the animals which were a key part of her life. Her husband, who is an investment banker, was also ordered to give her £900,000 so that she could buy a house with surrounding fields so the horses could graze.
The woman will also receive £30,000 a year maintenance for herself in a divorce package worth a total of £1.5m. The husband had argued that the money for the horses was an unnecessary extravagance and that £600,000 would be enough for her to buy a house.
However, the district judge made the award after being told that horses had been a prominent part of her life. The couple, who have not been named, had been married for 11 years and had no children. The court was told that the horses were like a child substitute for her, particularly after she had lost a baby in 2001.
In the past, she had spent £20,000 from a personal inheritance to buy two horses and her husband had given her a foal to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary. She told the court: “Horses are my family. I see them every day. You form a very close bond with horses.”
The couple, who live in Gloucestershire, had joint assets of £3m. The husband earned £60,000 a year plus substantial bonuses and the wife undertook interior decorating and part time book-keeping.
The Court of Appeal has upheld the district judge’s award. Sir Mark Potter, one of the three Appeal Court judges hearing the case, said: “During the marriage the horses played a major part in the wife’s life with the consent and encouragement of the husband.”
He added that while the husband remained in his post with his current level of income, “it was not right to expect the wife to work full-time so she was left with no time for her horses”.
This is an unusual case which sets something of a precedent but it doesn’t mean that divorcing wives will automatically be able to claim large sums to pay for the maintenance of their horses or other animals.
Each case will be different and, of course, a couple would have to have considerable assets for this to become an issue. However, it is possible that in certain circumstances, a person could receive maintenance for pets if they could show that they were an important part of their life.
Please contact Marie Stock if you would like more information about divorce or cohabitation issues.
© Copyright 2008 Burt Brill and Cardens Solicitors