Maria Mills received a £230,000 lump sum along with £1,100 monthly maintenance payments when she split from her husband Graham after 13 years of marriage.
But since the divorce in 2002 Mrs Mills invested the money ‘unwisely’ in London properties, landing herself in debt because of her ‘poor’ decisions.
Mr Mills argued he ‘should not be the insurer against his ex wife’s poor financial decisions’, saying it was unfair that he should ‘pick up the tab’ years after they split.
However, he has now been ordered to increase Mrs Mills’ monthly payments to £1,441 so she is ‘able to meet her basic needs’.
It was held that the Judge in the first court action, had calculated the Mrs Mills’ ‘needs’ at £1,441 a month, but had gone on to order that her monthly maintenance should not be increased from £1,100.
But the Appeal Court said that ‘shortfall’ was unexplained and left Mrs Mills out of pocket. Mrs Mills would not be able to move towards independence. The Appeal Court further stated that Mr Mills has and had the ability to make the maintenance payments asked for.
At Wrigley Claydon, we fight on your behalf to make this difficult time a little easier. We are experienced family lawyers and can assist you with the legal aspects of any family situation in which you may find yourself. We deal with our cases sensitively.
If you are looking for family advice then please call 0161 785 3521 to speak to Terri Pickup in our Family Department or email tp@wrigleyclaydon.com.
Do you think that it is fair that the wife was able to go back to court to ask for increased maintenance payments?
Corinne Bailey-Brown
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