The Provincial Court of Barcelona has partially agreed with a 62-year-old woman to collect a compensatory benefit of 3,200 euros per month for five years, which adds up to a total of 192,000 euros. In this way, the court corrects (and revokes) the ruling of the First Instance Family Court, which had denied her any pension considering that the woman had a large estate and had been registered with Social Security without working through her husband’s company.
According to the ruling (available in the Judiciary), the conflict arises after the breakup of the marriage in 2023, since they had been married for 22 years. The ex-wife appealed to claim a lifetime pension of 5,000 euros per month, arguing that she left the labor market to dedicate herself to raising her two children, one of whom required intensive psychological and psychiatric care. For his part, the ex-husband covered monthly expenses of up to 18,000 euros during the marriage, arguing that the woman did not lack resources.
Thus, although the Court of First Instance rejected the imbalance based on the mother’s assets, the Provincial Court has decided to transform the resolution, opting to establish a substantial but strictly temporary pension.
In value family dedication versus the figurative “salary”
The Provincial Court explains that although the husband alleged that the woman had been receiving a salary of around 1,200 euros for 20 years through the family property company, she organized the domestic economy and took care of medical and school appointments, allowing the man to focus on his prosperous economic activity.
The resolution is clear and indicates that the wife’s “absence of professional career and stable and continuous work experience during the marriage since at least 2004 (…) directly linked to family circumstances and the upbringing of children” is proven. The court rejects that the woman maintained real independence, reminding the ex-husband that “all of the woman’s needs have been covered by the man until the date of the breakup.”
A millionaire patrimony that stops the life pension
Now, the Court has taken into account the financial situation of women to limit this financial aid over time. The court considers that establishing an indefinite payment makes no sense, given that the woman has an asset composition that predicts stability.
The ruling explains that the ex-wife is the owner of a family chalet in Barcelona and a residence in Menorca, acquired with funds from her husband, whose market value is close to three million euros. Upon verifying this real estate ownership, the court concludes that we are not “facing an absolute lack of resources or expectations of them on the part of the wife.”
Thus, Justice decides to temporalize the accrual to five years, a “prudent and reasonable” period. The ruling rules that “this asset element can guarantee you a source of income sufficient for your needs if you liquidate or monetize them appropriately, seeking the best circumstances,” the court concludes.