Binding nature of the two-stage method with surplus distribution for the calculation of post-marital maintenance

Facts

A. (born 1959) and B. (born 1962) married in 1997 and have the children C. (born 2000) and D. (born 2005). They have been living separately since March 2011.

By divorce judgment of June 2, 2016, the District Court of Baden ordered the husband to pay monthly maintenance contributions. On mutual appeal, the High Court of the Canton of Aargau ordered the husband to pay post-marital maintenance of CHF 5,149.- per month until the wife's retirement age with its decision of December 13, 2016.

With judgment 5A_202/2017 of May 22, 2018, the Federal Supreme Court referred the matter regarding post-marital maintenance back to the High Court due to a mix of methods and to examine the husband's ability to pay after reaching his retirement age.

With its decision of August 21, 2018, the High Court obliged the husband to pay post-marital maintenance of CHF 5,037.- per month from the date the judgment became legally binding until March 31, 2024, and thereafter CHF 1,451.- until the wife's retirement age.

The husband has again appealed against this decision to the Federal Supreme Court on October 29, 2018.

Considerations

In its case law, the Federal Supreme Court has so far allowed a plurality of methods in the entire maintenance area and has only intervened correctively in the case of a mix of different methods. However, with BGE 147 III 265, it has standardized the calculation method for child maintenance, stipulating the two-stage method with surplus distribution as binding nationwide.

The Federal Supreme Court considers that the same method should be applied to all maintenance categories within the same dispute. Therefore, it is obvious to declare the two-stage method as binding also for post-marital maintenance, especially since in many cases child and post-marital maintenance have to be determined simultaneously.