Mills v Mills [2018] UKSC 38: judgment of Supreme Court was handed down on 18 July 2018 by Lord Wilson.

This was the ex husband’s appeal from the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase the ex wife’s periodical payments by £341 per calendar month to include her rent in circumstances where she had already received a lump sum of £230,000 in the financial proceedings in 2002 in order to rehouse. 

The ground of appeal upon which permission was granted was:

Whether, provision having already been made for the Respondent’s housing costs in the capital settlement, the Court of Appeal erred in taking these into account when raising her periodical payments.

The substantive appeal was heard on 6 June 2018 in the Supreme Court. Katherine Dunseath was junior counsel for the respondent ex wife.  

The Supreme Court have allowed the appeal. 

Mr Mills appeal was allowed and W’s periodical payments reduced by £341 per month to remove the rental element. Although W was not found to be wanton or profligate at first instance the finding that she was unwise was sufficient applying the previous cases of Pearce and Yates.