Hayley Trim's Analysis: Child maintenance: what the Duxbury?

The case of N v F [2011] EWHC 586 (fam) is primarily about the treatment of non-matrimonial assets - here assets of over £2m brought into the marriage by the husband. Mostyn J summarises the authorities clearly and applies the two stage test considering to what extent if at all to exclude such assets from the sharing principle how they should be valued now and (having usually divided the matrimonial assets equally) cross checking for fairness by way of overall percentage division. This always being subject to needs of course.

What really caught my attention about this case however was the handling of child maintenance. The husband was left with capital of just over £5.2m. After attributing £1.75m of that to a housing fund the remaining sum of just under £3.5m was treated as a Duxbury fund. The appropriate CSA percentage was then applied to the annual income the husband was deemed to receive on a Duxbury basis...

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