Protecting Your Client's Maintenance Rights

In high net worth divorce cases, the amount of maintenance to be paid to the non-wage earner spouse is often a critical issue for determination with the payor spouse usually wanting to minimize the amount of support to be paid, while the recipient spouse wants to maximize the ongoing support. What results is a battle over the recipient spouse's reasonable needs, measured against historical expenses, the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage and anticipated or projected costs. In cases where a recipient spouse's monthly living expenses reach high levels, sometimes exceeding $20,000 per month, establishing the accuracy of the historical expenses solely through the client's own testimony is often difficult. In those situations, a family law practitioner should seriously consider using a lifestyle expert to assist the court in establishing lifestyle and reasonable living expenses.