Appeal of a motion judge's decision on a change motion brought by the wife following the husband's early retirement and acceptance of an early pension payout.
The motion judge dismissed the wife's claim for child support for the youngest child and varied spousal support to $5,000 per month, significantly below the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines range of $6,000 to $8,000 per month.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in part, dismissing the child support claim but allowing the spousal support appeal.
The appellate court found the motion judge erred in departing from the Guidelines based on the "good luck" of the early pension payout and the wife's alleged financial mismanagement.
The court also found the motion judge misapprehended the Guidelines ranges and the parties' positions on the unequalized pension value.
The Court of Appeal substituted an award of $20,000 per month for 2012 and $8,500 per month for 2013, with future support calculated by deducting 31.78 per cent of annual pension payouts from the husband's line 150 income.
