The High Court directed a husband to sell a property and use the proceeds to help fund his wife’s nursing home care, in a divorce case involving a couple who had lived apart for more than 20 years.
Mr Justice Abbott’s judgment, delivered on 4 July 2007, concerned N.F.’s application against E.F. under the Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996. The couple married in 1968 and had three children, none dependent. A 1991 judicial separation settlement transferred the family home and about four acres to the wife, while the husband retained 70 acres. The settlement extinguished their Succession Act rights and treated the transfer as full and final provision for accommodation, but not maintenance.
The wife later sold the home and bought a succession of other properties. The judge found that these transactions left her with substantially less equity than the original home might have provided. At the hearing, she had €120,000 on deposit, which the judgment estimated could have fallen to about €100,000 after nursing home costs. She was in her 70s, had a Parkinson’s type disease, and was likely to need continuing nursing home care. Medical evidence put her life expectancy at five to seven years, while the judge noted that such estimates could understate how long an individual might live.
The court said the husband’s net assets were in the region of €1.1 million after estimated tax, sale costs and a mortgage. The judge also took account of the husband’s history of maintenance litigation and the estimated €59,000 in payments that would have accrued had maintenance continued. He found that amount was not legally due as a debt, but considered it under the 1996 Act.
The judgment directed the husband to sell the property identified as “PP” and place the net proceeds, estimated at about €400,000, in an interest-bearing deposit. Under the proposed arrangement, the husband could draw interest after DIRT, while funds could otherwise be paid to the wife or her representatives for nursing home care in line with the judgment. The court said this was intended to meet future care costs and contingencies.
The husband was also ordered to pay €60,000 as a capital cushion within one year. Monthly maintenance was to be paid by standing order and increased by 15% annually. Payments were to continue for the wife’s lifetime or until further court order. The parties were directed to pay their own costs, subject to the court’s invitation to address the final form of the order and possible adjustment of costs. The judge also invited submissions on whether an enduring power of attorney would suit the circumstances.