15-year divorce battle continues to be fought

Richard Wilmot, who works as an airline pilot, has been involved in a protracted legal wrangle following the split with his third wife Viki Maughan.

Mr Wilmot has objected to paying maintenance for a daughter who he claims was in actual fact fathered by another man who Ms Maughan had been seeing in secret before their divorce.

His estranged wife has denied these allegations and argues that DNA testing has already proved that Mr Wilmot is the teenager’s biological father.

The couple had split in the late 1990s and their divorce dispute has been fought since 2001.

Mr Wilmot continues to maintain that the girl, who is now approaching the age of 18, is not in fact his child. He alleges that his signature was “fabricated” on her birth certificate and that DNA samples had been switched prior to the paternity test.

In the most recent twist, Mr Wilmot has gone to the Appeal Court in an effort to block a bid by Ms Maughan to enforce a previous settlement and compel her ex-husband to pay the maintenance.

Lady Justice King, who was presiding over the latest hearing, “reluctantly” agreed to give Mr Wilmot permission to press ahead with a full appeal.

While the Judge was frustrated that arguments were still being played out after more than 15 years, she conceded there was a “compelling reason” for the appeal to be heard.

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