Custody and alimony for wife who worked in family business

After deciding to put an end to twenty years of marriage, Mrs. S. M. came to our office to receive legal advice about her new situation of divorce, both familiar and financial.

Prior to filing for divorce, at G. Elías y Muñoz Abogados we tried to reach an agreement with the husband's lawyers in order to obtain the divorce of the spouses by mutual agreement, however, given the limited possibilities of negotiation, we opted to file for divorce through contentious proceedings.

In our application, we requested custody of the two minor children, as well as alimony for them and for the eldest son, who had not yet achieved financial independence, as he was studying at university. Consequently, we requested that the use of the family home be attributed to the wife, as the custodial parent. The arguments on which we upheld the attribution of guardianship and custody are based on the mother's full dedication to the children since their birth, as both spouses decided by mutual agreement that the wife should stop working to devote herself entirely to the home and to collaborate with the husband in the family business.

Likewise, in our application for divorce we requested a compensatory pension in favour of Mrs. S. M., arguing the economic imbalance suffered after the couple's break-up, as the wife had lost not only her job and the income she obtained from collaborating with her husband in the family business, but also her professional projection, in the company where she previously worked, which she left for the family project.  

Among the different circumstances taken into account in Article 97 of the Civil Code for the establishment of a compensatory pension, we can highlight the following:

• Past and future dedication to the family.
• The collaboration with their work in the commercial, industrial or professional activities of the other spouse.
• The duration of the marriage and of the marital cohabitation.

Thus, based on these circumstances, we requested the establishment of a temporary compensatory pension in favour of our client.

Finally, the Judge fully upheld the claim filed by our Firm, awarding custody of the minor children to Mrs. M., as well as a maintenance allowance in favour of the three common children, in accordance with the standard of living that had been maintained during the marriage.

Likewise, in the divorce judgment, the judge fixed a compensatory pension in favour of our client for five years, arguing the evident economic imbalance that the break-up had caused her, as well as the loss of professional projection, in accordance with the circumstances of article 97 of the Civil Code.

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