fbpx

Fathers Should Pay Towards Their Children's Upbringing – But How Much?

18th July 2022 By

It is obviously right that fathers should pick up a fair share of the tab for raising their offspring, but exactly how deep into their pockets should they be made to dig? The High Court tackled that issue in considering whether a wealthy father should be required to cover the cost of employing a nanny for his toddler.

The father, a very high earner, was able to pay any sum he might be ordered to towards his child’s maintenance. He agreed to provide the child’s mother with a £1.35 million housing fund and to pay her £8,000 a month. He would also provide her with a car and pay their child’s school fees.

The mother, however, was not satisfied by that provision. She argued that the father should, amongst other things, additionally pay £48,900 a year in childcare costs, including the £3,000 monthly expense of employing a nanny. Following a hearing, her arguments in that respect were rejected by a judge.

The judge observed that it might be thought that the financial package agreed to by the father would satisfy all claims that could be made on behalf of such a young child. He took a very dim view of the mother’s evidence, describing the level of her expenditure on a nanny, holidays and shopping as reminiscent of someone who had won the football pools.

Challenging his ruling, however, the mother argued that her health difficulties meant that she was in need of respite from childcare duties. Engaging a nanny would allow her to rebuild her career so that she could work towards financial independence by the time the father’s monetary support for their child came to an end.

Upholding her appeal, the Court noted that she would not have any assistance with childcare from the father. She had not lived independently of her own family before and her health difficulties, although not very severe, had to be taken into account. Given the extent of the father’s wealth, it was not unreasonable for her to require some form of extraneous childcare.

The Court ordered the father to pay an additional £1,386 a month in respect of childcare costs until the child reaches the age of five. Thereafter, the monthly sum will reduce to £1,040 a month until the child is 11. From then onwards, there was no basis for requiring him to make further childcare provision. The mother’s challenge to other aspects of the judge’s ruling failed.

Source: Concious

Latest News

Tenants Can Purchase Freehold When Landlord Cannot Be Found

11th June, 2024 By

The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 gives qualifying leaseholders the right to join together to buy the freehold of their properties – a process known as collective enfranchisement. A recent case demonstrated that this right can be exercised even when the landlord cannot be found. The leaseholders of two flats in a terraced house wished to purchase it from the landlord, but were unable to ascertain his whereabouts and therefore could not serve notice on him under Section 13 of the Act. They therefore applied for an...

Court Refuses to Set Aside Divorce Order Applied for by Mistake

6th June, 2024 By

While the courts have a range of powers to set aside orders, they will only exercise them in limited circumstances. In a somewhat surprising case that has attracted much comment, the High Court declined to set aside a final order of divorce that had been applied for by mistake. A couple separated in January 2023, after more than 21 years of marriage. In October that year, while financial remedy proceedings were still ongoing, the wife's legal representatives inadvertently applied for a final order of divorce in respect of her instead...

Waiting Time for Grants of Probate Falls

3rd June, 2024 By

Following concerns last year about delays in processing probate applications, recent figures from HM Courts and Tribunals Service show that waiting times for grants of probate are continuing to improve. The average time from submission of a probate application to probate being granted fell to 11.3 weeks in March 2024, a decrease from 13.7 weeks in February and 13.8 weeks in January. This is the lowest figure since March 2023, when the average was 10.8 weeks. The longest waiting time since then was in November, at 15.8 weeks: that month,...

Late Appeal Against Tax Penalties Rejected

31st May, 2024 By

It is incumbent on taxpayers to make sure they fully comply with their obligations to file returns and pay any tax due. The point was illustrated by a recent case in which a taxpayer whose return had not been received by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) failed to persuade the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) that he should be permitted to appeal against the resulting penalties. On the evening of 31 January 2014, the man had completed his 2012/13 Income Tax return on HMRC's website. Shortly afterwards he went to Cyprus, and...