Facts
A., born in 1949, and his wife A., born in 1950, separated on September 1, 1995. Through a divorce judgment dated June 12, 2003, the marriage was dissolved, and A. was obligated to pay his ex-wife a monthly maintenance contribution of 4,000 Swiss francs until April 2014.
On May 22, 2008, A. applied for a reduction of the maintenance contribution to 1,000 Swiss francs per month from April 1, 2008. He cited his early retirement on March 31, 2008 due to a restructuring of his employer, his remarriage, and the birth of his two children as the reasons.
The Cantonal Court of Geneva initially reduced the maintenance contribution to 1,500 Swiss francs per month in two instances. The Federal Supreme Court overturned these decisions and remanded the case for a new assessment, as the lower court had violated federal law in calculating the parties' hypothetical income.
Subsequently, the Cantonal Court of Geneva set the maintenance contribution at 3,500 Swiss francs per month. It took into account that A. had inherited an unencumbered property in Y. in 2005, which he rented to his daughter at a preferential rate, while he himself lived in the former marital home, of which he had become the sole owner after the divorce. In order to be able to pay the maintenance contribution to his ex-wife, A. would have to encumber this property and take out a loan of 200,000 Swiss francs, the interest and amortization costs of which would provide him with an additional monthly income of 1,880 Swiss francs.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court partially upheld A.'s appeal and set the maintenance contribution to his ex-wife at 3,000 Swiss francs per month from May 22, 2008 to April 30, 2014.
The Federal Supreme Court stated that the judge, when modifying the post-marital maintenance contribution, can oblige the maintenance debtor to draw on the substance of his assets to fulfill his maintenance obligation, even if the…