Read the full judgment text of FCMC 1678/2013 on BabelCite. This Family Court judgment was delivered on 10 November 2015 before Her Honour Judge Sharon D. Melloy.
Ancillary Relief – Matrimonial Home – Pension Division – Needs Principle – Non-disclosure – Litigation Conduct – Maintenance Pending Suit – Wife retains home – Husband receives 40% pension – No costs order – The court determined final ancillary relief in a litigious case where the husband failed to participate in the trial. The court found the husband had not made full and frank disclosure of his financial position and drew adverse inferences. The case was approached on a needs basis rather than the sharing principle due to the wife's acute needs for housing and children's maintenance. The husband was found to have earning capacity but refused to work. The wife was ordered to retain the matrimonial home and pay the husband 40% of her pension accrued during the marriage upon her retirement. No order was made as to costs due to the husband's litigation conduct and the difficulty of enforcement.
Legal issues: Computation of assets and wife's pension · Husband's financial disclosure · Needs vs Sharing Principle · Husband's earning capacity and health · Children's education expenses · Maintenance pending suit · Litigation conduct and costs · Final orders for Ancillary Relief
Outcome: Wife retains matrimonial home; Husband receives 40% of wife's pension upon retirement; Maintenance pending suit discharged; No order as to costs.
Cites 2 cases