Decades after divorce, U.K. millionaire faces claim from ex-wife

Winnipeg Sun ^ | 03/11/2015 | Estelle Shirbon

[Wolfie]

Dang, it’s like marriage is until death do they part or something.

[WayneS]

Good point.

[Lurker]

Life is tough. Get a helmet.

[Celtic Conservative]

Thank you, I hoped somebody would see the merits of the idea.

CC

[vladimir998]

That’s what I thought too.

[Svartalfiar]

well guess what? Child support never dies...........

Who told you that? Most states in the US end child support at 18, unless the kid is still in high school. In few cases, they'll extend it to 21.

But this case is in the UK, so I'm not too sure, they're quite a bit more of a nanny-society than we are. However, the court initially threw out the case saying it's way too late, but the high court sent it back on appeal saying they should consider it a bit more fully.

[Albion Wilde]

they had one child at the time of their breakup. She may have ended up with four, but the other three have a different daddy.

That is different, indeed.

[Hoffer Rand]

My suspicion the reason the court is ruling the way it is, is because she’s been living on state bennies for a long time. If he is forced to start paying for her, that should cut down on how much the state is paying her. Just a way to soak some rich guy and do a little “redistributing.”

[yldstrk]

That’s not what I mean. If he never paid any, he owes 18 years of it.

[sitetest]

Dear yldstrk,

If he was poor for those 18 years as the child grew up, he owes the child little or nothing. It appears that he was poor for most, perhaps all of that period. You can't get blood out of a rock, nor should you try.

What happened subsequent to those 18 years is beyond the claims of the evil ex-wife, and even beyond the claims of his son.

sitetest

[Svartalfiar]

That’s not what I mean. If he never paid any, he owes 18 years of it.

No, he doesn't. As part of their breakup/divorce, the court ruled that he didn't owe any child support as he was just as broke at the mom was. He then spent a decade as a wandering hippy, and didn't start actually making any money until the kid was in his mid-late teens. The mom never applied for a Child Support re-evaluation, and didn't even file this case until 2011, when the "kid" was around 30!

The initial court just threw the case out, but on appeal a higher court said they should re-evaluate if the case has any merit. I can't see this going for the mom's way, and definitely not for £1.9M, not even close.