Facts
X. (wife) and Y. (husband) are involved in divorce proceedings. The President of the District Court ordered the husband to pay the wife retroactive maintenance contributions for the three daughters of CHF 1,880.- each per month plus child allowances, and a monthly advance maintenance contribution of CHF 2,373.- for her personal maintenance, effective from May 1, 2012.
The High Court of the Canton of Solothurn amended the first instance decision, ordering the husband to pay the wife retroactive maintenance contributions for the three daughters of CHF 1,750.- each per month plus child allowances, and a monthly advance maintenance contribution of CHF 2,575.- for her personal maintenance, effective from May 1, 2012.
The wife filed a complaint against the personal maintenance contribution of CHF 2,575.- and requested that the husband be ordered to pay her a monthly advance maintenance contribution of CHF 3,700.- for her personal maintenance, effective from May 1, 2012, in amendment of the contested judgment.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upholds the complaint and reforms the contested judgment of the lower court to the extent requested. It justifies this as follows:
The lower courts did not exclusively base the determination of the needs of the two households on the guidelines for calculating the existential minimum under debt enforcement law, but also considered other items such as expenses for telecommunications, household insurance, a car without a competence character, and holidays/social activities. Nevertheless, the personal needs of the parties were not calculated specifically, but only the basic amounts of the debt enforcement guidelines were adopted.
If the needs are not calculated specifically, but the method of the existential minimum with surplus distribution is resorted to, the consideration of a savings rate that is neither credibly substantiated in principle nor in terms of…