De Niro claim sets trend for ‘Covid-hit’ divorce cash
Virus given as a reason for not meeting payments after Hollywood star cites loss of career earnings
DIVORCED couples are using the coronavirus pandemic as a reason to renegotiate maintenance payments, family lawyers claim, after Hollywood star Robert De Niro attempted to halve his spousal support.
De Niro claimed that the pandemic had significantly impacted his earnings, and family lawyers warned that mounting numbers of warring former couples were making similar claims.
The 76-year-old has been battling his ex-wife Grace Hightower, 65, over the terms of their divorce. The pair confirmed their separation in November 2018 after 21 years together and now the actor is seeking to prevent his estranged wife from accessing more of his $500million (£396million) fortune.
An emergency hearing, held over Skype, was called after De Niro halved Hightower’s monthly American Express credit card limit, down to $50,000.
Caroline Krauss, De Niro’s attorney, told the judge that the actor had been forced to reduce her allowance because his businesses and career had suffered following the pandemic.
Family lawyers in the UK are warning that the claim is being heard on both sides of the Atlantic.
Cara Nuttall, a lawyer specialising in Family Law at JMW solicitors, confirmed that they have seen a significant increase in people looking to either decrease their maintenance payments, or trying to prevent the paying party from doing so.
She said: “It is inevitable that when so many people are on reduced income and/or facing redundancy their first thought is how to manage their outgoings.
We have seen a significant upturn in clients looking to understand what their options are to stop or reduce their payments now their income has dropped, as well as from clients who have been told their ex can no longer afford to pay them.
“Some accept completely that circumstances have changed and that a temporary solution will have to be found, but others simply do not believe their ex-partner’s income has dropped to the extent claimed, and believe the current financial downturn is being used opportunistically to try to reduce payments they never really wanted to make.
“Inevitably there will be cases where this is true, but many households are genuinely having to make significant cutbacks and the same level of maintenance is no longer affordable.”
Ms Nuttall pointed out that “there is no hard and fast rule as to whether maintenance can or should be reduced in times like this”, with each case being fact-specific.
However she added: “The court will not take as a given that maintenance should be reduced just because times are bad, and anyone looking to change their obligations will have to be able to prove what they are saying.” Jo Edwards, of Forsters LLP, added: “We have had a lot of enquiries from people wanting to revisit maintenance orders and we expect that to continue once the furlough scheme ends and many have found themselves, sadly, being made redundant. “The steps that someone in that position should take really depend on how long they are likely to have a significantly reduced income for. If the reality is that, within a matter of months, they will be back on their feet, the court is unlikely to make substantive changes to their spousal maintenance obligations.”