RANKIN & RANKIN

In the matter of *Rankin & Rankin*, Thornton J considered applications by both the wife and the husband for departure from the administrative assessment of child support. The wife sought to have the husband's child support income fixed at $245,000 per annum or, alternatively, for him to pay $400 per child per week from 1 January 2016, and for him to pay for private school fees and related expenses. The husband sought to pay $150 per child per week. The wife also sought lump sum or periodic spousal maintenance.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether to grant a departure from the administrative assessment of child support, the appropriate rate of child support, and whether to make orders for non-periodic child support and spousal maintenance. The court was required to assess the husband's capacity to pay and the needs of the children and the wife.

Thornton J found that a departure from the administrative assessment was warranted, ordering the husband to pay $400 per child per week in child support, with the first payment due within seven days. The husband's application for a departure order was dismissed. The wife's applications for non-periodic child support, specifically for school fees and related expenses, were dismissed on the basis that the husband did not have the capacity to meet these costs and no longer sought the children's attendance at private schools. Similarly, the wife's application for spousal maintenance, whether lump sum or periodic, was dismissed as the husband lacked the capacity to meet such an order.