Facts
A.A. (born 1968) and B.A. (born 1967) married in 1999 and are the parents of two sons (C.A. born 2006 and D.A. born 2008). The spouses separated on January 1, 2014, following which the court-ordered separation had to be regulated. By decision of September 28, 2015, the District Court of Kriens placed the children under the custody of the mother and obliged the husband to pay maintenance for the children and wife. Upon appeal by both parties, the Cantonal Court of Lucerne re-determined the maintenance payments. Subsequently, both parties appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.
In the context of the renewed review of the respective appeals, the Cantonal Court obliged the husband to pay maintenance contributions for the children and wife. It assumed a standard of living last shared by the entire family of CHF 16,000 per month and expected the husband to deplete his assets to cover the spousal and child maintenance until the determination of any post-marital maintenance, which could last until 2024.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court notes that, in principle, maintenance is to be covered from current income, and the assets may be drawn upon exceptionally if the means are otherwise insufficient to cover the maintenance. It does not matter whether it is marital, post-marital or child maintenance.
Whether and to what extent it appears reasonable to use assets for current maintenance is to be assessed based on all the circumstances of the specific case. In particular, the significance of the assets to be drawn upon, their function and composition, as well as the extent of the depletion of assets, both in terms of scope and duration, must be taken into account.
The Federal Supreme Court considers the appeal justified on three points: Firstly, the Cantonal Court wrongly accessed…