Facts
Dina [F.] and Adrian [F.] were married on June 21, 1989. The parties have been living separately since September 15, 1990. Various decisions of the High Court of the Canton of Aargau and the Presidency of the Court of Rheinfelden have set maintenance contributions from Adrian [F.] to Dina F. Dina [F.] subsequently filed another lawsuit, whereupon the Presidency of the Court of Brugg obliged Adrian [F.] to pay his wife a monthly advance maintenance contribution of CHF 910.-- from April 1992 onwards. Both parties filed an appeal against this judgment, which the High Court of the Canton of Aargau dismissed on March 15, 1993.
Dina [F.] then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dealt with the calculation of the maintenance contributions. It stated that according to Art. 163 of the Swiss Civil Code, the actual income earned does not have to be used in every case, but a hypothetical, higher income may be taken into account if a corresponding increase in income is possible and reasonable. In the present case, it was justified to attribute a hypothetical income of CHF 4,000.-- per month to the appellant, as she had given up her previous employment without the consent of her husband.
However, the Federal Supreme Court considered the deviation from the equal division of the income surplus…