Expensive equine

Those of us who keep horses know that paying for their upkeep is an expensive business.   Divorce can be costly too.

As if to underline the point a divorcing wife has recently been awarded £50,000 a year in maintenance, solely for the upkeep of her three horses.  Three appeal court judges have approved a £1.5 million divorce package which includes £50,000 a year in maintenance for the upkeep of three horses, and a lump sum of £900,000 to buy a house with land for the horses.

"During the marriage the horses played a major part in the wife’s life with the consent and encouragement of the husband," said Sir Mark Potter, Britain’s most senior family judge. He added: "This was all the more so after she lost a baby in 2001 and the husband gave her a third horse (a foal) to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary in 2004, to add to her own two horses which she had bought herself for £20,000 out of a personal inheritance in order to justify her eventing”.

Mr Justice Potter said that so long as the husband remained working in the City "with an income to match", then "it was not right to expect the wife to work full-time so she was left with no time for her horses or her eventing".

Follett Stock’s Chris Lingard says : “People might not immediately think that it would be reasonable for a divorcing spouse to be paid maintenance for horses.  However in reality this is simply part of the overall expenses that the wife would face going forward.  Presumably the principles behind this judgment are not limited to horses and would equally apply to other perhaps more pampered pets”.

If you require any further information about family related matters, please contact Chris Lingard by email at chris.lingard@follettstock.co.uk  or telephone on 01872 245995. Alternatively, contact any other member of our family team on 01872 241700.