My husband has fallen in love with his secretary and wants to divorce me. To show me he is serious and to force me to agree he has almost stopped supporting me financially. He has fired our domestic help and gardener, taken my car and credit cards. I have never had to get a job and over the years I have been accustomed to a very high standard of living . Will I have to give it up ? We are both Jewish.
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 16 May, 2022A Jewish husband owes his wife maintenance “according to her standing.” Jewish religious law even says that a husband should respect his wife more than himself.
Accordingly a couple’s standard of living is an important factor in determining the level of a wife’s maintenance. If for example, a wife’s present standard of living is lower than it was in the past e.g. because the husband has deliberately reduced the amount of money available to his wife for whatever reason, or because he has lost his job, and she can prove that she was used to leading a very comfortable life, then the court must take the higher standard of living into account when it sets the level of maintenance.