4 Jan 2024
Given a 14-year marriage, absence of marital assets, the wife’s dependence on social assistance, the husband’s limited earning capacity and the impossibility of a clean break, the court must order nominal spousal maintenance of HK$1 per year to preserve the wife's ability to seek variation if circumstances change.
30 Jun 2023
Court found respondent had extracted and transferred funds after commencement of proceedings with implausible explanations; judge added back HKD794,012.54 (2021.4–2022.11 excess spending) plus disclosed savings HKD58,911.62 to reach family assets HKD852,924.16, applied equal sharing and awarded applicant a lump sum of HKD426,462 payable within one month of the absolute divorce (subject to Legal Aid first charge); awarded child maintenance HKD1,700 per month from 1 Sep 2023 until child is 18 or completes full-time education; declined ongoing spousal periodical maintenance and found respondent…
15 Mar 2023
The court found the husband had not made full and frank disclosure and, on the evidence (including the social welfare report and wife's account), drew an adverse inference that the husband had additional undeclared income (likely trading activity). On that basis the court concluded the husband has the capacity to pay HK$3,000 per month and ordered that sum as child maintenance payable from 1 April 2023.
23 Dec 2022
Applying a broad‑brush assessment of the child's reasonable needs, making downward adjustments to the wife's claimed figures, considering both parties' incomes and assets and historic contribution, the court ordered the husband to pay interim maintenance: HK$24,560 per month backdated to 1 January 2022 until 31 August 2022 and HK$27,200 per month from 1 September 2022 until further order; the parties' contribution ratio fixed effectively at 20% wife/80% husband for the assessed needs; costs ordered nisi against the husband to be paid on a party and party basis to be taxed if not agreed.
11 Nov 2021
The applicant proved a substantial change in that he lost his job in March 2020, but he failed to prove that his bankruptcy application or his claimed low income were sufficiently established; because the applicant retained some earning capacity and did not provide adequate evidence of a sustained income at the level he claimed, the court would not make a major reduction but an appropriate moderate reduction was justified; accordingly maintenance was reduced from HKD 5,500 to HKD 4,000 per month effective 1 November 2021.
19 Apr 2021
Applying s5 MPPO and the broad-brush approach, the court critically assessed the parties' schedules, fixed general household expenses at approx. HK$28,000/month and children's expenses at approx. HK$41,949/month, ordered the children's expenses split equally and concluded the husband should pay interim maintenance of HK$10,500 per child (HK$31,500 total) from 1 May 2021; the court refused backdating to April 2019 on the basis backdating would impose an intolerable burden on the husband and made a costs order nisi in favour of the wife.
4 Feb 2021
The court refused to give effect to the alleged 2009 marital financial agreement and treated the matrimonial home as a matrimonial asset. Applying Cap.192 s7 and LKW v DD principles, the court found the respondent had access to sufficient economic resources (including sale proceeds and past compensation) and the ability to pay 50% of the children's needs. The court recalculated and ordered payment of monthly child maintenance from 1 June 2020, redistributed the HK$1,500,000 deposited in court after specified adjustments, revoked prior interim maintenance orders and made ancillary cost directi…
18 Nov 2020
Applying the broad brush approach the court quantified the wife's and childrens reasonable monthly needs at HK$169,924.91, accepted the wife's monthly income at HK$80,756.50 yielding a net need of HK$89,168.41; assessed the husbands monthly income at HK$156,420 and his reasonable personal monthly expenses at HK$67,337 producing capacity of HK$89,083; disallowed the husbands claimed credit card repayment deduction and adjusted contested items (including apportioning car expenses and reducing insurance claim), and therefore ordered maintenance pending suit of HK$89,000 per month from 1 Decem…
10 Jun 2019
Applying the broad rush approach and scrutinising claimed items, the court reduced several contested items and held the Respondent able to pay; it ordered HK$45,000 per month in total (HK$20,000 to the Petitioner and HK$12,500 per child per month) payable monthly from 1 June 2019, and upheld undertakings that the Respondent continue to pay the childrens school fees and provide medical/dental insurance; costs were awarded nisi to the Petitioner.
19 Sept 2018
There was a material change in circumstances (mother cohabiting/married, ceased paying rent, and receiving income) warranting variation; the father was ordered to continue to pay all of S's education tuition fees but was released from the undertaking to pay agreed ECAs; after apportioning household and direct child expenses the appropriate maintenance was fixed at HK$16,000 per month until S is 18 or ceases full time education; the variation was backdated to 1 June 2017; no order as to costs (order nisi to be made absolute in 14 days).