How the Courts Calculate Reasonable Immediate Needs in Maintenance Pending Suit Cases

If you have separated from your matrimonial partner and are waiting for your divorce proceedings to finalise, you can apply for interim financial support. This support can help you get by during this period.

What is a Maintenance Pending Suit?

• This involves one spouse being ordered to pay regular payments to the other.
• This applies during the period before the divorce is finalised.
• It is also known as a decree absolute.

Recent case of Rattan v Kuwad [2021] EWCA Civ 1:

This case provided clarity on the Court’s approach in determining orders for Maintenance Pending Suit.

Facts of Rattan

In this case, the wife appealed a judgement made following the husband’s appeal from a maintenance pending suit order of £2,850 per month made by the judge on the first instance hearing. On the first appeal, the judge had set aside the original order on the basis that the first instance judge had not undertaken any critical analysis of the wife’s immediate expenditure needs. The Court of Appeal sided with the wife. Furthermore, it was held that the judge in the first instance did undertake a sufficient analysis of the financial factors and reached a fair decision as to what amount of maintenance is reasonable pending the final financial remedy hearing.

What were the principles in Rattan?

As this is not a final settlement for divorce and only an interim measure, there should be no need for a full and detailed analysis of the spouses’ financial circumstances and needs. This will be done later. Only in cases involving very high levels of wealth may the court feel the need to analyse the financial circumstances in more depth than the broad brush they would usually use. Section 22 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 provides that these applications must be reasonable in meeting the immediate financial needs of the spouse and children, if applicable.

What does immediate mean?

Immediate needs apply between filing and finalisation of a divorce.

Although some items of expenditure are not incurred every month, it does not mean they are not immediate needs.

Rather, this can be averaged over the monthly payments.

Some examples of what could generally be deemed as an immediate need could be:

• Mortgage
• Rent payments
• Utility bills
• Costs of food
• Childrens’ care or schooling

However, immediate needs do not include issues of capital or long-term expenditure.

What does the court call reasonable?

Reasonable signifies “fairness”. We observe this in the case of TL v ML. This is in line with the overarching principle in financial remedy cases, where outcomes are meant to be fair for both parties. What is deemed reasonable is at the hands of the court’s discretion. There is no standard formula as every case is different.

The court will generally look at your standard of living enjoyed during marriage as to assess what level of payment is reasonable.

Insights & case studies to help you:

The Ultimate Guide to Spousal Maintenance

What is Spousal Maintenance

How can we help?

Contact us today at 0333 344 6302 to arrange an initial meeting. Offices in Henley-On-Thames, Beaconsfield, Marlow and London.

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