Animal Law
UK Appeals Court OKs Hefty Alimony Payment for Ex-Wife’s Horses
Posted Sep 22, 2008, 01:23 pm CDT
By Martha Neil
An investment banker in the United Kingdom had argued that his soon-to-be ex-wife could and should cut her post-divorce expenses by eliminating an unjustified extravagance—her three horses.
But, finding that the horses have been an important part of the woman's life during their 11-year marriage and that she was devoted to them, a three-judge U.K. appellate panel approved an award of 50,000 pounds annually (that's almost $93,000 in U.S. dollars), just to maintain the animals, reports the London Times. "The judges also ruled that the woman should be given a lump sum of 900,000 pounds by her husband, an investment banker, so that she could buy a house with sufficient land to graze the horses."
The unnamed Gloucestershire couple had no children during their marriage, and the husband had encouraged his wife, a talented rider, in her equine activities, the panel found. It also upheld an additional award of 30,000 pounds (not quite $56,000) for her own maintenance.
The husband earns an annual salary of 60,000 pounds, plus bonuses, and the couple has joint assets of 3 million pounds.
"Lawyers said that the decision could set a precedent, with divorcing wives or husbands claiming maintenance for other animal interests," the newspaper reports.
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