Former Escort Loses Out On Spousal Maintenance

A former escort has lost a bid for spousal maintenance in a long-running divorce case in Melbourne.

Sydney, Australia – May 12, 2018 /PressCable/ —

The woman and her ex-husband, known under the pseudonyms Mr and Ms Higgins, met in 2006 when Ms Higgins was working as an escort charging $1500 a night.

They married in 2012 and divorced in 2015 but never lived together. The property dispute centred on a $1.12 million house that Mr Higgins bought his ex-wife in 2010.

Mr Higgins wanted ownership of the house to be transferred back to him, while Ms Higgins sought to have the home declared as belonging to her. Ms Higgins also sought a spousal maintenance payment of $341,978.

Justice Cronin of the Family Court refused her any offer of spousal support and ordered her to repay $180,000 from the sale of the house to Mr Higgins, should she eventually sell it.

“Spousal maintenance is paid when one party can afford to pay it and the other party requires it to adequately support themselves,” explains Hayder Shkara of Sydney-based law firm Justice Family Lawyers.

“Ms Higgins has this house worth a large amount of money, so the judgement was based on the idea that if she wants to live more comfortably she can quite reasonably sell the house.”

Justice Cronin emphasised Ms Higgins’s potential to begin working again, making a point that she had unsuccessfully returned to the escort business and had not attempted to gain employment in any other field.

The relationship between Mr Higgins and Ms Higgins was undoubtedly unusual. Mr Higgins made a habit of buying gifts such as clothes and shoes for Ms Higgins.

He paid for her Botox treatments, breast enlargements and rent, and school fees and clothing for her daughter. Ms Higgins was living concurrently in a de facto relationship with the father of her daughter.

The court heard the opposing perspectives of Mr and Ms Higgins.

While Mr Higgins claimed it was a loving and affectionate relationship, according to Ms Higgins her ex-husband repulsed her entirely and she only continued the relationship for the money to support her family.

Contact Info:
Name: Mr Hayder Shkara
Organization: Justice Family Lawyers
Address: Level 21 133 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
Phone: +61-2-8089-3148

For more information, please visit https://justicefamilylawyers.com.au

Source: PressCable

Release ID: 344214