Ask the Experts

Spouse maintenance

Date: 22 Jan 2007 Answered by: Kate Covell, Lawyer
Q.	My husband has a court order to pay his wife £789 per month for the rest of her life until she remarries/dies and then, on his retirment, she is entitled to a third of his pension as maintenance. He also pays approx £400 per month each for his 2 children (ages 18 and 14). We married 4 years ago and I earn Approx £36k net per annum and my husband earns approx £45k net per annum. He also has debts of £42k, which were jointly amassed during the marriage, for which he took full responsibility. They were married for 12 years and divorced 9 years ago. His ex-wife works part-time as peripatetic music teacher and earns approx £10k net per annum. She also receives child benefit and tax credits. I am now pregnant and our baby is due at the end of May 07. My question is - we wish to reduce/stop the maintenance payable to his ex-wife (not the children) as we feel that given their ages and the fact that the eldest is due to start University in Sep 07, there is no reason why she could not work full-time, or at least increase her hours to reduce her financial dependance upon my husband. At present I pay for virtually all household expenses, utility bills, mortgage etc... as my husband has very little cash left over once he has paid his maintenance and debt repayments. We also spend a lot of money on seeing the children every other weekend. Would a court take my income into account when deciding whether to reduce her maintenance, or would it only take into account my husband's income and ability to pay? I should add that I have no spare cash left over at the end of the month and we will struggle to pay child care fees. My giving up work or working part-tie not an option. Any advice would be very welcome. Thanks.
A.	Your husband could apply to the Court for a downward variation of the existing maintenance payments to his wife on Form A. The application should be made to the Court dealing with the original order. Once the application has been issued the court will issue automatic directions which will give both parties dates for filing a financial statement on Form E. Your husband should set out in full his income and expenditure and why he needs to have the existing order decreased. From what you have said it seems unfair that his ex-wife is having such a large chunk but when the Court made the original order it would have taken in to account the fact that the children would grow up and she would be able to work more. Remember that when considering an application the Court can also vary payments upwards.
Date: 9 Jan 2007 Answered by: Kate Covell, Lawyer
Q.	I have a 2 year old consent order to pay spousal maintenance at £350 p.m. and child maintenance at £750 p.m. My ex-wife is now co-habiting with her long-term partner in the house she bought out of the divorce settlement. Do i have good cause to get the level of spousal maintenance to be reduced?
A.	Yes, if your wife is cohabiting then the spousal maintenance ought to cease or be reduced to nominal payments for the duration of her cohabitation. You can apply to the Court for a variation of the Order. The maintenance in respect of your child however should continue.
Date: 7 Nov 2006 Answered by: Kate Covell, Lawyer
Q.	My wife and I are seperated almost 5 yrs now.and i purchased the home after seperation, my question is: does my wife have any claim though on my future earnings or Is she entitled to a share of the property. we married in india,now she is overseas.can i still use your services?
A.	If you are domiciled in England & Wales then you can issue a Divorce Petition in any divorce Court here on the basis that you have been separated for at least 5 years. You will need to have an address for service of the proceedings upon your wife and you will have to apply for leave to serve her out of the jurisdiction if the address is not in England & Wales. If she fails to respond you can apply for an Order for deemed service. When dealing with financial issues the Court will have regard to all assets in both of your names. It will be important to obtain a clean break order from the Court within divorce proceedings to ensure that your wife does not make a claim at any time in the future as far as assets in your name are concerned. You must seek advice about the divorce and financial issues as quickly as possible.
Date: 1 Nov 2006 Answered by: Kate Covell, Lawyer
Q.	My sister has just found out that her husband wants a divorce. He said he would pay the mortgage until as he says someone takes her off of his hands - what is my sister entitled to as she is worried she will end up homeless with two small kiddies. He has his own business which he says she has no entitlement. Please help.
A.	Dear Jemma, Unfortunately if your sister’s husband wants a divorce there is very little she can do to stop it. Having said that he would need to prove either your sister’s adultery or her unreasonable behaviour if he wants to pursue a divorce now. Alternatively he will have to wait for 2 years and then he can only proceed with a divorce if she gives her consent, otherwise he will have to wait 5 years. If there is to be a divorce now, depending upon the incomes of both parties, the Court may order maintenance pending suit for your sister until the finances are finally dealt with by the Court. If there is no divorce at this stage and your sister requires maintenance for herself she can apply to the Court for an Order for maintenance for “failure to maintain” her. Since your sister has 2 children he ought to be paying child support for the children. A basic guide is 20% of income net of tax and national insurance contributions for 2 children whilst they are in full time secondary education. When the Court deals with the overall financial settlement within the divorce proceedings it may be that the Court would think your sister ought to be supported by your brother-in-law until she remarries or cohabits with somebody else but the Courts, I have to say, prefer to deal with matters on a clean break basis if at all possible. All financial matters must be taken in to account, including pensions, capital, income and all other assets and then a fair division is reached. If he has a business then obviously he has income from that business and that must be taken in to account. As far as the business itself is concerned, it may be that the Court will allow him to keep this in its entirety since he will need to have the income from it to support himself/your sister and most certainly the children, but it ought to be taken in to account in the overall financial situation of you both. As a general rule the Courts are dealing with financial issues by first of all having regard to the needs of children whilst they are under the age of 18, then there are a whole range of other issues to be taken in to account then a clean break should be effected if at all possible. A usual type of order is for each party to keep what they brought in to the marriage and then divide equally the matrimonial assets, but this of course will depend upon what there is. It is very unlikely that the Court would order a sale of the property and make your sister homeless and it may be possible to allow your sister to remain in the property with the children (depending of course on the size of the house) allowing her husband to have his share once the youngest child reaches his or her majority. It is important for your sister and her husband to deal with matters amicably if at all possible for the sake of the children and this can be dealt with the assistance of a mediator. Your sister ought to seek legal advice from a lawyer practising in family law in her area as soon as possible. I hope the above helps a little.
Date: 28 Sep 2006 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I have been married for about 16 years, five of those years living separate lives in different countries. We are now about to divorce. I have 3 children from him and would like to know what percentage of his net salary I am entitled to. Thank you for your time Barbara
A.	Barbara There is no strict calculation for spousal maintenance it depends on need ie what the shortfall is between your income and expenditure. Recent big money cases have capitalised maintenance where there have been insufficient capital assets. As for the children that is more straightforward in that he should be paying you at least 25% of his net salary for each child under 18 and in full time education. I suggest you obtain independent legal advice.
Date: 23 Sep 2006 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	please can someone explain what a nominal maintenance order is and the implications of such an order. Is it only for a real emergency or if my husbands salary goes up can i then claim more maintenance. many thanks
A.	It is where there is a real emergency. it is to protect you should your situation change for the worse. it is not deisgned to get more money should your husband's situation improve.
Date: 12 Oct 2005 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My ex-wife's boyfriend has moved into the former matrimonial home with her and has been there for some months. Apart from proving he has sold his former residence with a land registry history search plus anecdotal email evidence, what other evidence do I need to have my maintenance payments negated due to his permanent co-habitation with her?
A.	You need to prove he is residing there at least 3 nights a week for the court to determine he is living there. Your best bet is to get a private detective to do some surveillance, however what you have in the way of evidence is fairly damning.
Date: 17 May 2005 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Is it possible to apply for for ancillary relief or maintenance after my divorce was made absolute, even after having a lump sum settlement of £2,000 and a nominal maintenace of 5p per annum? If so, how do I apply? I was married for 21 years, and had no money of my own. I am now living on Income Support and a carer's allowance.
A.	Pam You can apply to the court for the nominal maintenance order to be varied upwards. As you are on benefits you will need to consult a Solicitor that undertakes legal aid work.
Date: 30 Dec 2004 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	is it possible for an ex-wife to apply to have a maintenance order "index-linked" after almost 10 years?
A.	yes it is but it would not be back dated.
Date: 2 May 2004 Answered by: Angela Riley, Partner, Laceys Solicitors
Q.	Would I have to pay maintenance to my wife - she earns £10000 in a supermarket I earn £30000 our children are over 21 and she has chosen not to pursue a career although there is no reason why she could not earn more.
A.	There is no hard and fast rule about maintenance for former spouses, but this would be viewed along with all the circumstances when coming to a final settlement. If you take legal advice, do ask for the best possible and worst possible case scenarious if this were to go to Court. You may then decide to try reaching an agreement about your finances through mediation before resorting to instructing solicitors, as the latter is likely to prove a more expensive option.
Date: 14 Oct 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	We were married for 31 years - I have left my wife and we have no dependent children. What are the implications of accepting a financial settlement whereby I pay £1 nominal maintenance to my wife and she receives 2/3 of our assets.
A.	The implications are that your wife can apply to the court to vary the maintenance payment upwards if her circumstances should change for the worse in the future.
Date: 29 Jul 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I married my partner in 1999. in 2001 i filed a divorce. We verbally agreed that he'll make payment of £500 every month to me. In 2 years he only made 1 payment. Now I am living with a new partner who is looking after me financially as I am a full time student. Do I still have the right to receive the £500 per month from my ex-partner? If so, is there anyway I can make sure he pays me as we agreed?
A.	As the agreement was verbal it will be very difficult to prove and now that you have a new partner, he would not be expected to maintain you unless you have children together.
Date: 7 Jul 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Help Pleaseeeeeee. I divorced my wife some 5 years ago and a financial settlements order was made. We have one daughter aged 4 at the time (now 10). My wife (ex) got the house and equity (now about £160,000), the mortgage was reduced to an affordable level for her to meet (£40000), and she got a periodical payments order to enable her to get on her feet £500 per month for 5 years. The CSA payments are £100 per week in addition. The 5 years is now coming to an end and she has applied to vary it and have it continued. She got a job within a few months and has since basically been very comfortable. My income has remained the same, my expenses have increased, I have had trouble meeting the payments of £500 and have remortgaged twice, have large credit card bills. I have also now remarried and due to have a baby (which we planned to coincide with affordability). I pay CSA for my daughter from my previous marriage so the periodical payment is for her only. She lives fairly comfortably, holidays etc and works part time. We on the other hand, although I earn 40000, cannot afford much without credit. My question is a) will she get this extension? b) if so for how long and at what rate? c) why should she be entitiled to do this and could she do it again? Anything else you might suggest! I would appreciate your response. Thanks and regards
A.	It very much depends on whether she can show she cannot survive without it and whether you can survive by making the payment. All you can do is present the evidence and hope the court looks favourably upon your situation.
Date: 24 Jun 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	3 years ago, i was divorced from my wife, and a verbal agreement was stated that due to COhabitaion being missed form the court order, she agreed that, if and when she did co habitat, she would inform me that she would not require the £250 pm paid to her, however 2 months ago my son (21) was asked to leave her home and her boyfriend moved. She is now stating that we never had a verbal agreement and if i wan to stop the money take her to court. As the divorce took most of my monies on the settlement, is there a easy way of getting the court order chnaged to include co habiting Many thanks in advance
A.	You can apply to the court for a variation of the order and it would likely succeed if she is cohabiting. You can also just stop paying and see what she does, as she would have to take it to court also. However I would put the money to one side pending a result in case the court makes you pay the arrears. I would make a very simple application to terminate the order on the grounds of her cohabitation and that there had been a verbal agreement between you. Do you have any evidence of this agreement at all?
Date: 17 Jun 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	The eldest of my partners three sons finished school with A levels and found a university place. He then decided to go back to college and do more unrelated AS levels for one year. He began his university course last October and has just dismally failed first year exams. He's moved himself onto another unrelated course now. The consent order states " maintainenance to be continued through to include university and training". Does this mean he and his mother can keep this course swapping and delaying tactics on indefinately? There are two other sons being maintained who are still at school and presumably what happens now will determine what line she takes with them too.
A.	No, it means one course of full time education and thereafter one course of higher education in its common usage and although it does not specifically state that in the order, the court would take it to be implicit, in my view.
Date: 31 May 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Was married 19 years, I paid for everything, ex left the marital home and set up with a new partner 8 months ago. 18 year old daughter working full time lives with mother, 15 year old son at college lives with me I know I won;t have to pay maintenance for my daughter but will I have to pay my ex any sort of monthly maintenance for my ex?
A.	As she is now cohabiting her financial needs are met and I doubt very much if the court would award maintenance for her now that she is cohabiting. That does not mean that you wll not have to divided the capital assets on an equal basis though.
Date: 27 Feb 2003 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	This is a financial question. My husband and I have been married for 18 years, we informally separated about 4 years ago although we continued to live under the same roof and he supported the children and I until 2 years ago. Since then I have been on extended sickness benefit with no financial help from him apart from £25 per month per child (we have two children, now aged 15 and 16). This was an informal arrangement. He has also been paying the loan for the car that I drive, I pay all other costs involved, repairs, tax etc. Until recently both children lived with me although the eldest now lives with him and is working, whilst the other lives away during the school term times and returns to me during holidays. During our marriage I didn't work as I home educated the children (my husbands job meant that he moved about the country and we, as a family, went with him). Approximately four years ago I was diagnosed with a chronic condition that means I cannot work and therefore have to rely on benefits. The chances of my ever working again are slim. I've tried retraining but could not complete the courses due to my condition. I have been struggling to make ends meet but have not tried to get financial help from my husband. However, he has now said that he wants the car back as he can't afford to pay for it anymore and has stopped payment for our youngest child. He earns approximately 35 - 40k per year and there is no mortgage. Can I claim spousal maintenance from him and if so, for how long?
A.	Yes you can claim spousal maintenance and because you may be unable to work this would last until your death. I suggest you seek independent legal advise as soon as possible to begin the process of applying.
Date: 25 Feb 2003 Answered by: Hilary Bowles, Solicitor, Fullagarbrooks
Q.	I HAVE AGREAD A SPLIT OF 69% TO MY WIFE AND 31% TO ME HOWEVER ON TOP OF THE AGREAD 20% OF NET INCOME MY WIFES SOLICITOR CONTINUES TO REQUEST £1000.00 PER MONTH FOR LIFE OR UNTIL SHE REMARRIES. MY SOLCITOR HAS SAID WE NEED TO COME UP WITH A LUMP SUM TO PAY HER OFF AS 18 YRS OF MARRIAGE WAS A LONG ONE. SHE HAS NEVER WORKED IN THAT TIME EITHER AND I THINK THIS IS SO UNFAIR THAT I MAY NEED TO GO INTO DEBT TO PAY HER OFF EVEN THOUGH SHE GETS THE LIONS SHARE WHICH ALSO INCLUDES ALL FUNDS/ASSETTS OF MY BUSINESS. I AM CURRENTLY PAYING THE MORTGAGE ON THE MATRIMONIAL HOME AND PUTTING ABOUT £1100.00 PER MONTH INTO HER BANK WHICH SHE STATES IS NOT ENOUGH AND SHE CANNOT MANAGE. i HAVE TWO CHILDREN ONE ALMOST 18 WHO IS GOING TO UNI SOON AND ANOTHER ALMOST 13.
A.	Ken Brown You will appreciate that it is quite difficult for a Solicitor to come into mid-point negotiations and make any valid comments. I would assume that the 20% of the net income is the Child Support Agency calculation. Therefore, on the face of it your wife would be entitled to maintenance for herself, on top of the child maintenance. I would suggest that you ask your Solicitor to explain exactly what the breakdown of the assets represent so that you are clearer about the basis upon which the settlement is founded.
Date: 15 Feb 2003 Answered by: Yasmin Qadir, Lawyer, FILEX
Q.	Dear Sir/Madam I wonder if you can help me please. I agreed via the courts a settlement last year that my wife was happy with ie I bought her the house , the car , and i was to pay all her monthly bills ......this was all agreed when I was employed on a large salary ....she now wants to move in with her new partner and my son , i have since lost my job and my partner is two weeks away from giving birth to our child .....I sent a letter to my ex- wife explaining i could not afford the monthly payments any more and would she consider a reduction as I wanted to pay for my sons "keep" rather than money towards all of her bills .....The thing I am so annoyed about is the fact that I received a letter from her solictor saying basically " you agreed this figure , so you must continue to pay it ".....( this is true I did agree to pay it , but only when i had the means to ) ......I now have to consider my own family or to pay for her so I have cancelled her payment for this month ( due Monday 17th ) .......It seems her solictor have not looked at the fact that I have been made redundant .....Can you explain what may happen now please ?
A.	Hi David based on the information you have provided you need to contact your previous solicitors and take the matter back into court. You would need to have the order varied due to your change in circumstances.
Date: 14 Jan 2003 Answered by: Hilary Bowles, Solicitor, Fullagarbrooks
Q.	Divorce seems inevitable(breakdown of marriage and my husband does not want it to work between us). We lived together for 2 years and then married 5 1/2 years ago. During all of our relationship I have been in full-time employment and have contributed greatly to our home, etc. Following an illness I became unemployed from July 2002 to 1 December 2002, during which I still received income and continued to contribute to the home, etc. On 2 December 2002 I became self-employed, but at present my business, in its infancy, is very much in the red, ie set up costs, etc. I have no guaranteed regular income, and my income over the last 7 days was approx £75. My business plan does not show breakeven until July 2003. In th event of divorce, over and above splitting 'everything down the middle', eg sale of property, etc would I be entitled to any maintenance payments from my husband for cost of living expenses, eg rent, etc..?
A.	Karen Newman You do not give me many details regarding your family situation. I am therefore unaware of whether you have children and what your finances are. Certainly in the event of divorce it would be possible for the Court to award you temporary maintenance. However, given the fact that matters do not seem to have started proceeding with any great momentum at this time, it is unlikely that they would be sorted out by July 2003. By that time your business plan may show clearer indications. I would advise that you discuss with your Solicitors the possibility of a maintenance pending suit for yourself for an interim period and possibly whether or not it would be just for you to receive a small lump sum before the division of the proceeds.
Date: 11 Dec 2002 Answered by: Hilary Bowles, Solicitor, Fullagarbrooks
Q.	Hi, My parents separated 2 years ago and divorced last autumn. My mother wanted to stay in the house we had all shared, so my father had to move into rented accomodation as she couldn't have his name taken off the mortgage and put in her sole name as she doesn't earn enough. I stayed at home for an extra year after my A levels before going to university last September so that she would get another year of maintenance for me.She gets £250 monthly for each of my two brothers aged 16 and 13 and the same for me until we all end tertiary or higher education including University. I would like to know if I can claim my £250 per month directly from my father as I need this for living at Uni? Also, can my father be made to pay extra in that event to my mother since the loss of £250 per month would mean she struggles with the mortgage? Is it true that the court doesn't deal with child maintenance anymore and if so what happens if my father decides to reduce the amount he now pays in respect of his consent form? Can my mother take him to court to get him to keep to the agreement? Thank you
A.	It sounds like the maintenance is payable by a Court order entered into by consent. In that case the Court retains jurisdiction to vary the terms of the order. It is possible that you could be joined as a party to the proceedings to request that the maintenance be diverted to you. At the same time your mother could apply for an increase in the amount she receives for the other children. The success of these applications will rely on all parties’ situations, but to a greater part upon your father’s financial circumstances and whether he can fund a raise. If your father stops paying then a court order for maintenance is theoretically enforceable but there can be problems in certain circumstances, ( if for instance your father is self-employed.)
Date: 17 Oct 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Hi, I ( age 39 ) have recently separated from my wife ( age 35 ) and have re-mortgaged the matrimonial property to give her about 47% of the remaining equity. We have two children, ages 12 and 16, the 16 year old lives with me and is still at school while the 12 year old lives with the ex. The Ex has a full time job earning 15K and I have a full time job 30K per year. She has rented a place to live costing £600 per month to rent and she cannot afford to pay all the bills on her salary. Q1) As far as spouse maintenance is concerned, is she entitled to any maintenance for her. Q2) How is child support calculated considering we both have children to look after. Q3) I have a final salary pension scheme with about 30K transfer value that is now deferred. She does not have a pension scheme; due to the act she cashed hers in about two years ago. Is it automatic that she would be entitled to 50 % of my pension or are there other factors involved? Is there a way of keeping my pension intact? Thanks
A.	I think you need to seek professional advice as there are clearly some complicated matters to be ironed out although my own opinion is that you will be looking at more than a 50% split of the assets because of your wife's lesser earnings and ability to finance capital raising. I also believe that she would be entitled to some maintenance on the basis of her need, although this would be for a limited time to allow her to find better paid work.
Date: 27 Sep 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I got divorced in Dec 2001 after a 22 year marriage and have a nominal order for spouse maintenance. CSA deal with child maintenance. My ex has moved in with his girlfriend who works, they bought a house in April 2002 and have joint mortgage costs of £824 per month. With this mortgage cost his CSA maintenance assessment has been reduced from £500 to £280 for 5 children (18,15,13,9+9). He refuses to declare girlfriend's income but claims all housing costs. I have applied for departure but can only prove joint ownership with declaration of trust. CSA say they have no power to make him declare her income and have to allow housing costs. I had returned to work full time after separation and have just gone part time as it was almost impossible to cope as i have no family close.I earn £13k and claim WFTC, he earns £30k. I have nominal order for spousal maintenance. I want to apply for this to replace lost child maintenance. He says he will apply for residency of youngest 2 if I do that. Would a court be likely to grant me spousal maintenance and how likely would it be for court to give him residency. His girlfriend has been ringing my house and telling me I am harrassing them with solicitor's letters (so far one!). I would appreciate advice.
A.	Maintenance for spouses is based on your needs and clearly you have a need for spouse maintenance as you are having an income shortfall. The residence application would be seen as an attempt to avoid paying maintenance and would not in my view be succesful if he tried it. The order would likely only last until you cohabited or remarried or for a set number of years to allow you to obtain better paid work.
Date: 8 Aug 2002 Answered by: David Leadercramer, Solicitor
Q.	My husband and I have been married for 2 years 9 months, but have been separated since December 2001. We have two children, aged 2 years 4 months and 10 months. Our second daughter was only 3 weeks old when he started an affair, and he left the family home when she was just 10 weeks old. I am now thinking about taking this separation further and start divorce proceedings. I only work 16 hours (only recently increased from 10 in order to apply for Working Families Tax Credit). My husband now lives with the other woman and her two children - aged 12 and 9. She is just going through the divorce process herself. My questions are as follows: (1) Am I entitled to claim spousal maintenance as well as child support maintenace and if so, what can I expect to get? I earn approximately £720 a month and his monthly salary (last known, anyway) is in the region of £2200. The mortgage and directly related household bills come to £750 per month - this does not include food, petrol and all expenses related to the car or telephone. I believe that he would pay approximately 20% of his net pay in child support. (2) If he pays spousal maintenance, is this meant as part payment of the mortgage, or would this be in addition? (3) I cannot afford to take over the mortgage, so what can I expect will happen to the house? The mortgage is approximately £67k and the property is valued at around £130k. Sorry that there are several questions here, but I really would appreciate your assistance as I am getting very confused by information give to me by the local Citizens Advice Bureau, who have basically told me that I'll hardly get anything.
A.	The issue of spousal maintenance is not easy. Certainly despite the short marriage he has some obligation to assist you in my view because of the ages of the children and the fact that you are doing what you can to support yourself anyway. He does still have obligations to you despite the fact that he has has set up home with another woman. The precise amount he should pay and the length of time that it will be for is more uncertain and will depend inevitably on the other obligations that he has. Spousal maintenance is usually one figure which you will have for all outgoings including mortgage which you will then discharge yourself. Inevitably if you cant pay the mortgage then the property will have to be sold. There is equity within it which I think that you will need for rehousing purposes depending on what you can buy in your area with either no mortgage or a very small one.
Date: 24 Jul 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	When we divorced in 1998, after a long marriage, my ex husband agreed (by court order) to pay £1000 per month maintenance. Following some business problems, he is now asking me to agree to a to a substantial reduction in payments. His salary has gone up by £7000 pa since the divorce, and will be paid for the forseeable future, but he claims that he is worried about his long term security. What are my rights?
A.	If you have a court order then he should apply to the court to vary the order if you do not agree and the court will decide on whether the amount should be reduced based on his submissions. I am afraid he will lose as at present he is able to keep to the payments. If he were to lose his job later, he should argue about it then.
Date: 12 Jul 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I was married july 1990 been separated since Aug 1999 and have four children (now 12, 10, 7 and 4) who live with me but have regular staying contact with their father. Have decree nisi and am in process of sorting financial arrangements. My husbands solicitors are arguing that since I have lived on income support since separation and that ours was a short marriage I am not able to claim any spouse maintence or pension sharing. In your opinion is this correct and what constitutes a short marriage? My husband earns over 30,000 per year plus extra at times and pays CSA (370) but nothing else towards our upkeep. Thanks in advance.
A.	9 years is not a short marriage by any stretch of the imagination and I am puzzled why they think you would not entitled to spouse maintenance or a share of his pension. I cannot advise you on your individual case suffice to say that you should be entitled to some maintenance for yourself as well as a share of his pension.
Date: 17 Jun 2002 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	After a period of difficulty in our marriage my wife has finally admitted to having an affair. We have agreed to separate and are now discussing the finances. She works part-time earning approx £500 per month. I earn approx £50k per annum. We have agreed to sell the house which has approx £50k of equity. We have no debts other than 2 car loans. My wife is asking for 50% of our joint net income (exluding bonuses and payrises) and a 50/50 split on the house equity. We have 2 children, 2 and 5yrs. My wife has asked to keep her car (to be paid using endowments). This would leave me with my car loan. I have no idea if this is fair and can't help feeling that I will be disadvantaged by her using the children as the lever. Please advise.
A.	This is difficult to answer as all cases are dealt with individually. however I think that the equity spilt may be fair to you but not the income part. What the court will consider are your respective needs for income and capital. It is obvious her needs will be greater than yours because you have a high income now and this may mean her getting a bigger split of the equity to reduce her need for a high mortgage and therefore less income to service it. For the children you should be looking at 20% of your net income per annum and any spouse maintenance should be reflective of her actual needs rather than a blanket figure. You still have to be able to re house yourself and service any mortgage etc. Also any spouse maintenance would only last while she stayed single or for a set period to allow her to find better paid work.
Date: 28 Apr 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I am currently thinking of divorce or seperation. Weve been marrried 24 yrs, live in council house, with two children 22 and 21, both at Uni. We have no savings, but husband has lots of credit card debts in his own name, and mainly used for himself. He earns about 20,000 a year, I only work part time, so would he have to pay spousal maintenance to me, or would i be forced to take full time job? If he has to pay spousal maintenance, about how much would it be, and how long is it payable for? Thank you
A.	If you have been married 24 years then a level of maintenance would be normal. It depends on whether you are able to work full time and what your need for income is, there is no fixed figure. The way the court looks at it is to consider what bit costs to maintain your life, and what it costs to maintain his life and what he can afford to pay to make up the difference. if you are only working part time you will get Legal Aid if you cannot agree.
Date: 6 Apr 2002 Answered by: David Leadercramer, Solicitor
Q.	My girlfriend is going through a divorce. I stay with her and the children frequently. Her husband still pays all the bills and household expenses. Her solicitor has said that if i formally cohabit with my girlfriend then it will affect the rights she has to maintenance. What is the deffinition of formally co-habit and if i don't give anything towards her bills how does this affect things.
A.	There is no formal definition of cohabitation and in fact there is case law which makes it clear that even cohabitation will not automatically preclude a wife from getting maintenance from an ex husband. However judges are very unhappy in forcing ex husbands to pay maintenance in these cases. If you maintain your own home, still pay bills on it and do not contribute to her maintenance or her bills then you should be ok as long as you dont move in permanently. Another issue is whether the relationship between you could be said to be permanent. In summary you need to maintain an independent home and financial position from her as far as possible if she wishes to avoid the problem of you cohabiting with her.
Date: 27 Feb 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My husband left me on the 20 January as I found out about his affair. He now wants to divorce me on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour as I sent a letter to his friends and family showing them the holiday booking for his new girlfriend. I will not agree to a divorce on these grounds. How do I stand on this?
A.	My advice is to ignore his threats and proceed with your own petition on the grounds of his adultery if you do not want to be in this relationship any more. You could defend but it will take a long time and costs a fortune with no certainty that you will recover all or any of your costs.
Date: 26 Feb 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Hi, I currently work in a sales role and so get paid 50% of my salary as a basic income and the other 50% is paid against my acheivement against my sales target. As such my income is not stable from one month to another or year to year. I am aware that the CSA has recently revised downwards its child payment to 15% of Net income for one child. How would the CSA go about calculating a settlement for someone in my situation who's income isn't constant?
A.	Without having had sight of the new regulations I can only go on how the old system worked. You will have to submit 12 months wages and they take an average over the 12 months. This means that it should even out over the year.
Date: 23 Jan 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	When maintenance amounts are calculated (both children & spouse) what is the basis? Is it disposable income, and if so does that include or exclude debts such as personal loans and credit cards etc. I have taken out loans which although are solely in my name, have been used to buy the family car, and pay off credit cards. Are these bills taken into account during calculations?
A.	Maintenance for a spouse is based on her needs less income already received. So you work out what her income from all sources is. You work out her outgoings and some additional money for socialising. You then take your income and outgoings and if there is enough left that gives you the figure. For 1 child you should use the new CSA rules coming in March ie 15% of net income. for 2- 20% for 3 or more 25%. I suppose you would calculate the childrens first and then the wifes. This is just a rough guide and you should get some legal advice before proceeding.
Date: 18 Jan 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I asked your advice recently when my ex wife, whom I was divorced from 10 years ago, went to a solicitor to get maintenance and/or capital sum from my pension. I retired 18 months ago on ill health and am living solely on pension. Following your advice I wrote to her solicitor with details of my income etc and have now had a letter saying she has decided not to pursue things for the meantime. However, I am concerned about what may happen in the future. In the original divorce order she was allowed nominal maintenance of 5p a year. Is there any hope of me challenging this in the courts and getting it overturned? She is 40, in good health and we have a son 18 now in work and daughter 14. I am 43, not working, under doc for depression. If you can advise I would be most grateful.
A.	You would have to apply to the court to have the periodical payments order dismissed. The application would have to be on the basis that your circumstances and her circumstances have changed and that she no longer needs the option of applying for more money, which is quite likely in your case. I suggest you contact your original Solicitor to make this application as they will be in full possession of the facts. You could always write to her Solicitors indicating that you wish to apply for the periodical payments order to be dismissed and seeking her consent.
Date: 3 Jan 2002 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I was divorced from my first wife in 1991 after 10 years of marriage. I have since remarried and divorced again. I have two children by my first marriage aged 14 and 18 (the eldest is now at work). I retired through mental ill health 18 months ago and now live on a pension of 11,000 a year. I used a lump sum to buy a very small flat and am now in serious debt. I am paying 200 a month to CSA for my younger child and am aged 43. I have now had a solicitor's letter saying my first wife wants money for herself as she has no pension provision for the future. She is 40 years old with only one dependant child aged 14. She has not married again and only works part time. She is 40 years of age. If I have to give her some of my pension I will have to sell my flat and be homeless. I dare not go for legal aid because if I sell my flat at a later date I will have to pay back the fees. Can you advise where I stand? My bank statements clearly show my dire financial position and I wondered if I should send them to her solicitor as proof I have no money.
A.	From what you say, you clearly have no way of being able to pay her any maintenance except a nominal sum. You also would not in my view be expected to sell your flat and be made homeless in order to provide her with any capital. The court has to look at the needs, contributions of the parties as well as their health, respective income and capital positions. I would advise sending the Solicitors a Without prejudice letter indicating that you are unable to make any payments for maintenance and or capital. Set out your income and other assets and provide a copy of your pension entitlement and a valuation of the matrimonial home. They may request formal disclosure at a later date.
Date: 5 Sep 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	This is a financial question. Almost all my salary is spent on: mortage, house expenses, school fees and credit card payments on loans mainly taken to renovate the house and school fees. Most of the current expenses has been coverered by my wife's wages. Now she is leaving me and unless we sell the house not only I will not be able to pay my wife maintenance but also support myself and the children. I do want to pay the maintanance for my wife but financially it is impossible before the house is sold. She will not be able to support fully herself on her salary.
A.	The court will have to take into account your outgoings before deciding on whether you should pay maintenance to your wife. The CSA will also have to take into account a large proportion of your outgoings before deciding on a figure. I am afraid that if your wife cannot support herself on her salary, she will have to find better paid employment or seek some benefit advice. You also have to live at a reasonable level.
Date: 12 Jul 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	my friend is wanting to divorce her husband but is worried that she might end up with nowhere to live. They have a house and although he has said that he would continue to pay the mortgage if they split up, she is worried that he may change his mind. She would not be able to afford the mortgage on her own as she is not currently working. Would he be able to force her out of the house and what benefits would she be entitled to?
A.	If he says he will help towards the mortgage, he will therefore not mind her obtaining an order for maintenance in that sum to ensure that if he fails to pay, she can go back to court to enforce the order. if he will not agree, she can apply for maintenance as soon as the divorce has been issued.
Date: 2 Jul 2001 Answered by: Simone Katzenberg, Solicitor
Q.	My husband has recently left me, leaving me with only enough money to survive on for about two weeks. He is a contract programmer but lost his last contract about a month ago. Since then he has not really been looking for work. Since he is a contract programmer he has a business he owns and works through. I have been a co-director of this business for the last four years. I would like to know, since I have effectively been self-employed for the past four years, would I be entitled to any benefits?
A.	You should contact your local DSS office who will be able to tell you if you are entitled to any benefits and if so, which ones.
Date: 16 Jun 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I am a 46 year old female single parent with two children, aged 13 and 17, both of whom will go to University. I earn approx. £55000, have a house worth £90,000 and a mortgage of £65000. I have additional debts of £20000. A male friend is in the middle of a nasty divorce. His wife has been having an affair with a married man for 3 years and is divorcing him on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour. He continued to live in the marital home for some time after she filed for divorce. However,she was constantly verbally abusing him and eventually assaulted him. He therefore decided to leave the marital home for the sake of himself and his two children, aged 20 and 18. The 18 year old is in full-time education. He has been a lodger in my house and we have formed a relationship but we have no intention of living together once he is in a position to afford his own home again. He has continued to pay all the costs of the marital home, food, car, petrol, etc. Through the applicant's questionnaire, his wife is asking him to provide details of my income and assets. Do I have to give him this information, which I think is none of his business at this early stage of our relationship. If I do, will I be expected to subsidise his wife?
A.	As he is lodging with you and you have no intention to cohabit, then your financial affairs are irrelevant, although the court may draw inference that you are cohabiting if it is reasonably probable that you are. In any event the court will only take your income into account as far as his general finances and outgoings are concerned. You will not be expected to subsidise any payments he has to make, if any.
Date: 14 Jun 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife and I have been married for 9 years and have a 2 year old son. We have grown apart over the years and are now seriously considering separation and divorce. There is no-one else involved. I have a good job earning a basic salary of £65k, though it is in a volatile industry, and my wife, a qualified chartered accountant, works for herself for 3 days a week doing books for clients and earns approximately £15k pa. She gave up employment as a Finance Manager some years before our son was born so as to take a less stressful job, which I fully support. We have approximately £250k of equity in the house and have a couple of loans for two cars which I fund out of my company car allowance. My wife wished to move to the North of the UK with our son as she has family there and wants to live somewhere where she can buy a house without a mortgage. My job and the type of work I do means that I have to stay in the South. She will obiously have to give up her clients in the South and get a part-time job when she moves. She could get a well paid job and I wonder whether her ability to earn will be taken into account or is it just what she earns thaat matters. I want to contribute to my son's welfare and believe that I ought to help my wife as she does not work full-time in order to spend time with my son. We both want to arrange a "fair" financial settlement, and agree that assets such as the house and pensions whould be split 50-50. I am concerned though that I will not be left with enough income to support myself in a house large enough to accomodate my son when he comes to visit s well as support my wife and son. What is the likely financial arrangement after we have split the house proceeds?
A.	You seem to have sensibly sorted out the capital part of the settlement. As for Child Support, you will be looking to pay about 25% of your net income to her for the children. Please feel free to use our CSA calculator on the site, to get a realistic estimate. As for spousal maintenance, this will depend on what her needs are for income over and above her salary, child support and any other sources. if there is a shortfall between her income and outgoings, this is what you may be expected to pay, if the matter were to reach a court. However, it is not a precise science and will depend on what you want your wife to achieve as far as her standard of living is concerned. If you are both reasonable people, you should consider going to see a mediator or taking some legal advice.
Date: 29 May 2001 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	My husband left me on 7th April after I discovered he was having an affair. We have a 2 year old daughter. I have been advised to sell the family home (Mortgage - £105,000 / Market Value £190,000) as he wishes to take out another mortgage on his new partners property once her husband has left, for her and her 2 children. He withdrew financial support immediately that he left but has paid child maintenance since 14th May of £85/week. I work 30 hours a week and earn £1100/month. He works full-time earning £1400 basic, but a lot more with overtime (around £36K for last year). We have been married for 6 years. I am against selling the home and want to know if I would get anywhere if I asked for spousal maintenance to help me keep it (with him still on the mortgage). I am prepared to pay the majority. I can't seem to get a straight answer - basically should I fight to keep it or not?
A.	No one can make decisions for you. Only you can decide whether to fight to keep your house or not. The risk to you is that there is substantial equity in your house and if it were sold it would be possible for you to purchase an alternative property as you do have a mortgage capacity. It is likely that you would get more than 50% of the proceeds as you are housing your daughter and your husband is cohabiting. Therefore if he were to apply to the Court for a sale I think it could be likely that it would be granted, how the proceeds would be divided is difficult to say. Sofaras the issue of spousal maintenance is concerned I have to say that it is unlikely that you would get spousal support from him as your basic income is not too dissimilar. Go and seek advice from a solicitor.
Date: 24 May 2001 Answered by: Tracy McCormack, Solicitor
Q.	In your opinion what level of spousal maintenance, lump sum or any other payments would I need to make to my spouse upon divorce? I will also appreciate a rough estimate of the legal costs involved assuming no recovery from my spouse and that she will defend till the end? I intend to file for a divorce on ground of unreasonable behaviour on her part. Some details are as follows;  I am a male aged 30. My spouse is 22.  We have been married for 1 year and 6 months.  There are no children in the marriage.  Neither of us have any assets.  I earn £45K Gross (£32K net). She was working for a company some months ago and earned about £12K. She is at present looking for another job.  My outgoings are about £21K (includes rent).  We live in a rented property the lease being in joint names. I pay the rent and all the bills.  I intend to leave and get another rented place. I will not pay the rent where she is staying and not give advance notice to the landlord.  It is likely that she will defend the divorce (since she will get legal aid and would like to make my life difficult as usual) and I do not intend to make any payments and therefore will not negotiate. Thank you. Dan I hope the information above is sufficient to give you a reasonable picture of my situation.
A.	With regard to spousal maintenance it is unlikely that you would have to pay any long term spousal maintenance, and probable that you would not have to pay any short term spousal maintenance. The court would expect your wife to find employment, unless there was any justifiable reason why she could not work e.g. due to ill health. Further, the court would take into account the fact that you had only been married for a short length of time and the fact that there are no children. If in fact you do not have any other assets, and you should remember assets can include such things as life assurance policies and shares as well as bank accounts, then it is unlikely that you will have to pay your wife a lump sum. With regard to your rental property, if you are joint tenants then until the tenancy is terminated you are both jointly and severally liable for the rent. This would mean that even if you had vacated the property, the landlord could take proceedings against you for recovery of any outstanding rent while the tenancy remained in joint names. With regards to legal costs, I am afraid this will depend on the charge out rate of the particular solicitor you intend to use. Any solicitor should be able to give you an estimate of costs before you start any proceedings. Although your wife has no income and may qualify for legal aid on financial grounds she will have to show that she has merits to defend the divorce proceedings, and therefore it is by no means certain that she will get legal aid to defend the divorce.
Date: 13 May 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My ex husband was ordered to pay £12,000 per year maintenance when he divorced me in 1996. We were both also awarded capital. Unfortunately, he did not buy a property, as he was living in a flat supplied by his firm. He has also since lost quite a bit of his capital in business deals. My flat has gone up substantially in value. My ex-husband now says he will apply to vary the maintenance on the grounds that I am better off than him in terms of property ownership. How would the court consider his appeal, in which he will claim that he needs all his salary in order to apply for a mortgage? What sort of time scale can I expect? How can I find out more about varying maintenance?
A.	Maintenance is a matter of income over expenditure and does not relate to your capital assets. He would have to show that his income levels have deteriorated since the order was made or that your income has increased and therefore your need for maintenance has decreased. There is an argument that he needs more income in order to adequately house himself and therefore there should be a decrease in your payments, but this would balanced against your needs for income. You should seek legal advice sooner rather than later.
Date: 1 May 2001 Answered by: Simone Katzenberg, Solicitor
Q.	My partner has a court order to pay maintenance for his 2 children of £90 per week which was put in place 12 months ago, and he also pays his ex wife £40 per week, which sum will continue for a further 12 months only. The above calculations were based on his gross salary at the time. My partner has now changed his job and his salary has been reduced by approximately 20%.Can my partner adjust his maintenance payments accordingly, or is it best for him to apply to the CSA for a correct assessment? Can he do all of this without recourse to the Court?
A.	He needs to either approach the court or the CSA to do the necessary adjustment but if he fails to make the payments in terms of the court order, he is in breach of the court order and his ex can pursue him for arrears. He really should have tried to have it reduced before his salary went down but he may not have had time. The sooner he gets it moving the better
Date: 29 Apr 2001 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	Divorce proceedings have not yet started (she will have to start them) but I left my wife nearly 8 months ago. I have accommodation as part of my job and she has a short-term tenancy on a flat. We both work full-time (me on about £35k, her on about £9k). When we separated I let her have all of our savings (£3,000), paid for her removals, and agreed to pay her £500.00 a month. I do not want to continue to pay this much. What would I legally be expected to pay her in spousal maintenance and what does earmarking my pension mean? I know you don't have all the facts but any help will be most gratefully received.
A.	I am sorry but you are right, as I do not have all the facts it is impossible for me to give advice. I do not know whether you are paying spousal maintenance or maintenance for the children. I do not know how long you were married and I have no specific information on the whole financial picture. If you were married a long time and your wife has a substantially lower earning potential as she has cared for the children then you may have to pay spousal maintenance as well as that for any children. If you were married a short time and you have no children and you are both quite young then it is unlikely that your wife would have a claim for herself. I would advise you to seek legal advice at an initial interview with a solicitor which is usually free of charge so that they can discuss matters I more details with you.
Date: 27 Apr 2001 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	sorry to bother you again. My question concerns spousal maintenance again. When you divorce does the court decide if this is appropriate or do you have to apply, also if you do receive maintenance how would this affect working families tax credit and tax paying if I was working? Thanks again
A.	The Court will only consider financial applications if you actually apply for what is known as ancillary relief. This is a completely separate application from the divorce or any problems concerning the children Maintenance should not effect Working Families Tax credit but it would have to be declared if you were in receipt of it.
Date: 27 Apr 2001 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	I am coming up for a divorce on the basis of 2 years separation. I am 45 have not worked for the last nine years and have 4 children (11, 8, 6, 3) who live with me and have regular contact with their father. We are at present waiting for a CSA assessment for child support. Since I am on income support I will be no better off when this goes through. I want to know if I am likely to be entitled to maintenance for myself - my solicitor seems to think not as I am on income support, but I am trying to look forward to the future when I want to return to work. Because of the children this is likely to b only part-time. If I got maintenance would it stop if I started work? My husband is a university lecturer (34yrs) and comes home (I think) with approx £1400 per month although this increases automatically each year. I stayed in the jointly owned matrimonial home (no equity, endowment mortgage). I'm starting to feel a bit bitter because he has money to spend apparently on new motorbikes, theatre etc and me and the children are really struggling. Thanks for your help
A.	Obviously your solicitor is in a much better position to advise you than I am as he or she is in full possession of the facts. However if what you are seeking is the potential to be able to work in the future with perhaps some assistance from your ex, then you need what is known as a nominal maintenance order. This means that he would have to pay you a nominal figure now such as £5.00 per annum, but because of this order you can apply to vary in the future, ie, upwards. Any maintenance order would be stopped if you re married but either way either of you could apply to vary the same at any time. Sofaras maintenance now is concerned I cannot give advice without the full facts. However if he does not earn enough to give you what the benefits agency can give you then it is unlikely that a claim is viable.
Date: 24 Apr 2001 Answered by: Simone Katzenberg, Solicitor
Q.	I gave up work over 10 years ago to be a full-time housewife and mother to our two children. The children are now 10 and 5 yrs old. Within the past 18 months we also moved to the USA when my husband got a new job over here. He has now fallen for another woman and wants to divorce me, against my will. I have no option but to return to live in England, but due to the age of my children and my lack of qualifications feel that I will not be able to find a well-paid job. My wish is to return to my studies and enroll on a degree course, which will take several years. My husband currently earns $90,000 per year and also holds 5% shares in the private company he works for. I have been told that if the company is sold (and this I know is part of my husband's plan for the future), then these shares could be worth many thousands, if not millions of dollars. I have also been told by my husband that if I insist on laying claim to a percentage of the income from these shares, then as it is a private company, then I will also be making myself liable if the company goes bankrupt or makes losses. He also believes that I have no rights to these shares and that they are his alone. My husband has also stated that he does not want lawyers involved in the divorce and wants us to decide on financial arrangements ourselves. He says that lawyers will cost us about $20,000 and that the lawyer representing me will try to 'take him to the cleaners'. He has threatened to do a disappearing act, along with all the money, if I insist on getting lawyers involved, and wants us to use his Father (an accountant by trade), to act as mediator for the fair sharing of finances. I do believe that his Father WILL be as fair as possible, but am worried that if things are not 'signed and sealed' then he might not live up to the agreements in the future. I would like to know firstly, is he right about the shares? and secondly, how much spousal support and child support should I be asking him for, and should this be a fixed monthly sum or a percentage of his income (which could of course, go up - or down). I also have questions on whether he should be funding the fees for my further education and whether he should be paying for the additional expenses incurred in shipping some of the furniture and our personal possessions back to England. The issues of child access and who they should live with are not in any way a problem, He will be allowed free access to them at any time, except that I have stated that if he continues to live in the USA, then I am not prepared to allow them to fly out on their own to visit him as I consider them to be too young. He accepts that practically, he will only be able to visit them once, or maybe twice a year and that most communication will have to be by telephone, letters and e-mail.
A.	You must go and see a lawyer and not be threatened and bullied by your husband about that. Its highly unlikely that he would do a disappearing act because what would happen then to his job and shares etc. I don't know what the law is in the particular part of America that you live in and you must take legal advice over there. Do not let his father mediate between you because he doesn't know the law and he can't possibly know what is right and fair. Over here, everything would be taken into account and what your husband has told you is not correct. if he can afford to pay for you to re-qualify, he will have to. If he can't, then he won't. Its really about establishing how much money there really is and how it should be divided. Go and see a lawyer as soon as possible. There is a lot at stake for you and in effect you only get one shot at it so make sure you get it right. Good luck
Date: 4 Mar 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My ex husband has agreed to increase my maintenance according to index linked to rise with the rate of inflation. He currently pays £300 per month and says he will back date it 3 years, what sort of amount will it increase too? Thanks for any help.
A.	In order to work this out, you need to find out what the rate of inflation has been for the past three years and then times the amount being paid now by the percentage rate of inflation for that year. We do not have those figures on the site, but will do so as you have raised an interesting point.
Date: 1 Mar 2001 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	Hello, I have been divorced for 6 months having had a clean break settlement - as part of the settlement I raised £35,000 (£25k extra mortgage and £10k personal loan) to give as a lump sum to my ex-husband. This was done as he was living with his new partner in her home with her 3 children and our 2 children do not particularly like going there as they don't get on with the new partner so my ex claimed that he needed the capital out of the family home to buy somewhere for himself to use to see our children and to provide him with security should he have to leave his present home. Since then he has not used this capital and has no intention of doing so and is still living in the new partners £1 million home. I do not want to re-open the clean break but want to seek a variation of the child maintenance court order that was made as my expenses are now much higher (due to the extra borrowing) and his are not as he stated for the divorce - i.e. the cost of running his own home. I would like to apply for a variation on the basis that the new circumstances are that he has not carried out what he stated that he intended to do. I want to do this without a solicitor, as I cannot afford one. What should I do, what is the procedure? I would appreciate any help and advice - by the way I earn about £18k per year (part time) and he earns about £50k. My mortgage is now £105k in a £250k house. We have 2 children aged 11 and 13 and he currently pays £475 per month maintenance (no wife maintenance).
A.	Applying to vary an existing order is done in much the same way as applying to the Court for financial provision. The Court will need to consider your financial circumstances along with your ex-husbands. However you need to consider carefully whether there has been a change in financial circumstances. At the time of agreeing the order you would have been aware of the fact that you had the borrowings to pay presumably. You also do not advise whether your ex husband's maintenance payments were calculated on his intended out goings or on existing out goings. If on existing outs goings then his circumstances would not have a changed either. The procedure for an application to the Court as I say is virtually the same as for a substantive application. You can obtain leaflets and assistance from your local courts to vary an order. Bear in mind that another avenue open to you is to apply to revoke the maintenance order and seek to use the jurisdiction of the Child Support Agency. Find out how much they would calculate his payments to be. If it is more, invite him to agree by consent. If he does not then consider this option as it will probably be cheaper.
Date: 24 Feb 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Can a court order (for support or maintenance payments) issued by a German Court be enforced in the United Kingdom ?
A.	Yes it can. The Countries of the EU have reciprocal maintenance arrangements in place and a UK court order will be capable of enforcement in the appropriate local court in Germany as if it were a German order.
Date: 15 Feb 2001 Answered by: Tracy McCormack, Solicitor
Q.	my partner left his wife of 15 years 18 months ago - she remained living in their house until the end of last year (when it was sold) and he continued to pay all the bills on the upkeep of the house - when the house was sold she kept 85% of the profits and he the other 15%, on the agreement that she wouldn't go for his pension when they eventually divorced. She now wants maintenance as she is renting property although she has enough cash from the sale of their house to purchase a property for herself outright. She is working full time, and has substanial assets of her own. She also is asking for 1/2 of my partners inhertitance from his father although they were only married 18 months when his father died and in the will is it left only to him with no mention of her? Is she legally entitled to anything - she is now threatening to take him to court for maintenance. I am now pregnant with our first child and worried about our financial situation - is it likely that the courts will rule for us to pay her maintenance when she has already had a substanial amount of money from us? please can you put my mind at rest. thank you.
A.	I am afraid that the information you have provided is not sufficient to enable an accurate answer. May I suggest that your partner visits a local solicitor taking with him as much information as possible on both his and his wife's financial positions. This should include details of their incomes, outgoings, liabilities and assets. When looking at any financial claims the court has to consider a number of factors which include, among things:- 1)the parties incomes and outgoings 2)the parties capital positions, including pensions 3)the length of the marriage and the age of the parties 4)the lifestyle the parties enjoyed when married The more information you are able to provide then the easier it will be for the solicitor to give accurate advice.
Date: 24 Jan 2001 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	Under what circumstances could my ex wife apply for a variation to the term order granted by the court. What if my salary increased significantly? What would happen if I won the Lottery?
A.	If the order is for maintenance for herself, then if there is no specific wording to prevent it, she can apply at any time where either her circumstances or your circumstances have significantly changed. She would have to justify an increase on the basis of her needs, not just that you have more money to spend on her. If the order also included capital, it should have been on the basis of a clean break as to capital, so she would not be able to ask for more capital for herself.
Date: 15 Jan 2001 Answered by: Simone Katzenberg, Solicitor
Q.	We found out my husband's ex-wife, who gets £300 maintenance per month (no children), had tenants in her house and was co-habiting. It took a long while to obtain proof, but today we returned to court to try and stop the maintenance. It was originally in March 2000 that we found out, and she moved back in as soon as she was told. Her tenant today came to court as a witness and admitted living there from Nov 1999 to March 2000, which covered three court appearances in which it was never disclosed. The judge today dismissed this evidence as "in the past" and ordered the £300 to continue. Can we appeal on the grounds of her receiving money due to committing perjury and fraud? If not, what do we do - just give up. We have no solicitor - no money to pay one.
A.	If you have already been to court and the matter adjudicated upon, it seems that there is not much you can do about it at the moment. You may need to wait and see if she co-habits again in which case you could then try and reapply to have the order dismissed. Without having any further information, its difficult to advise you further. It may be helpful to contact your local CAB who can put in contact with a local who can assist
Date: 20 Dec 2000 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	I really cannot say about whether it is good or bad because clearly I have not seen the papers but bars on maintenance claims in my experience can be contentious issues. However the Courts are concerned about limiting maintenance when the party is on income support for the obvious reasons. Clearly if your wife has an earning capacity or will so in two years time then it will be difficult for her to increase the maintenance back to the figure you will have paid. She will have to show good reason for not working and a continuation of the claim is not automatic. I am male aged 36 my wife is 33. There are 2 children aged 9 and 10. The marriage lasted 10 years. Yesterday I attended an FDR hearing at which my wife and I came very close to an agreement. That was that she should have the house (£20k equity) the three endowment policies for the house (value £5k). She would have no claim on my pensions (current value £18k). I would pay endowment arrears of £1.2k and half the mortgage arrears: £750 before handing them over. I would then pay her £775 a month for two years and the CSA amount of £373 a month thereafter (she went to the CSA and this figure is quite low because they spend 4 nights a fortnight with me). Contention surrounded a wish on her part to have NO BAR on her maintenance claim, which they reduced to a bar after 4 years. My concern was that being the way she is she would definitely come back for more after two years and so I would be signing up to 4 years at £775. My monthly take home after tax is about £1750 plus a bonus in May 2001 of £3k after tax. I live with my partner whose take home is £1250 a month. My wife is currently on income support but has worked in the past and will soon have a degree. She therefore presents herself as having no/minimal income. There is a mortgage of £356 and endowments of £100 to pay a month (she will pay these from the maintenance payment). Is this a sensible solution or am I agreeing to too much?? £775 is more than I anticipated.
A.	I really cannot say about whether it is good or bad because clearly I have not seen the papers but bars on maintenance claims in my experience can be contentious issues. However the Courts are concerned about limiting maintenance when the party is on income support for the obvious reasons. Clearly if your wife has an earning capacity or will so in two years time then it will be difficult for her to increase the maintenance back to the figure you will have paid. She will have to show good reason for not working and a continuation of the claim is not automatic. Whilst I cannot tell you to agree what you are not happy with the cost of litigating that point alone may outweigh any benefit gained. It might be a good idea to get correspondence which confirms the basis on which you agree the two year figure, i.e., for her to get on her feet and to have obtained a degree which will enable to earn money. Then if she comes back in the future you could show that letter to the Court.
Date: 16 Dec 2000 Answered by: Simone Katzenberg, Solicitor
Q.	I am going to Court in January for a 2-hour hearing regarding ex-wife's maintenance, which I requested. I found out she had co-habitude and let her house to tenants and also my income has reduced. There are no children. She has the house as sole owner, I keep my pension. The judge did not order anything to be produced but today I received a letter from her solicitor with a suggestion that, as I am not represented, I let them prepare a list of questions to be answered on my behalf. Obviously I am not letting them do that as I know what I want to ask, and they would definitely not want to answer my questions. My query is, do I have to submit a list to the Judge beforehand, what form should it take, and if I have to send a copy to them how late can I leave it?
A.	You will need to prepare a list beforehand and you will need to send it both to the Judge and your ex's solicitor. It will be in the form of a questionnaire and should be sent to them about 14 days before the hearing. If you send it very late, it could result in an adjournment and wasted costs, which you may have to pay. So do it sooner than later and get them to agree to exchange the questions on a simultaneous basis i.e. you each get the others at the same time.
Date: 13 Dec 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I have a court order against my former husband. He has decided to stop paying. Can he do this? He hasn't paid the proper amount for some time. Can I claim arrears. How?
A.	From the information given you have a maintenance order. If it has not been registered in the Magistrates Court you should do so as the court will enforce it automatically. If you need to enforce it now, you need to apply for one or more orders. An attachment of earnings order would be your best bet for actually receiving any money from him and I suggest you visit the court to obtain the forms. You will also be able to claim arrears. For more detailed advice I would recommend you use our FREE LegalAssist service to receive a free initial consultation from a local Solicitor who will be able to give you more specific advice to your situation.
Date: 8 Dec 2000 Answered by: Simone Katzenberg, Solicitor
Q.	My wife and I have decided to get divorced after 15 years of marriage. I want to do the right thing by my wife and have heard about Pension Splitting. I have a final salary scheme, which will mature in 10 years time. What are the general principles involved and how would I work out what she Should receive? I anticipate a 50/50 division of all our assets, which are quite substantial.
A.	It is important to be aware of the fact that the wife does not have an automatic right to half the husband's pension. Pensions are an asset like any other and are taken into consideration when working out how assets should be divided. There is also no automatic 50:50 division. We look at all the circumstances of a case i.e. ages, contributions, length of marriage etc. So it may be more appropriate and cost effective to " offset" the wife's entitlement to part of the pension by giving her a greater share of other assets and leaving the pension untouched. On the limited facts here I can't say whether or not it is appropriate because I don't know anything about the couple's financial position other than the assets are substantial. The general position on pension sharing is as follows. Pension Sharing came into force on 1st December and is only available to parties who file petitions for divorce or nullity after that date. In simple terms Pension Sharing is effected by means of credits and debits. The person whose pension is split/shared (the Transferor) suffers a debit. The recipient of the shared pension (the Transferee) receives a credit. The Transferee can either leave the credit in the Transferors existing scheme or take it to a new pension provider. This will give the Transferee(normally the wife) her own pension which is completely independent of the husband. This is entirely new. However in certain cases the credit has to be left in the existing scheme( police force and other public sector schemes) The transferor suffers a debit to his pension but if he is earning less than a quarter of the earnings cap( currently £91,800 per annum) he will be able to rebuild his pension. To ascertain the value of the pension for division, a lawyer will need the cash equivalent transfer value ( CETV) , details of current pensionable salary, and the number of years of service.
Date: 23 Nov 2000 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	I moved out of the family home 04/01/00. Initially I continued to pay all the bills and the mortgage as my two children stayed. Todate I am now looking to rent a flat as I cannot continue to reside at my retired parents home especially as my 16 yrs old son has come to live with me since May 00.My daughter has stayed with my wife and is 18 yrs old 27/11/00. I have ceased paying the utility bills some months back but now need to cease payment of the mortgage as I will not be able to rent the flat and pay the mortgage. It is not possibble to communicate with my wife at this time and the bank seem to care little as to my predicament as long as they get there money. Can I simply stop paying ? Does the fact that my daughter is now 18 mean I cannot be forced to pay the mortgage? ( she is currently still at sixth form but going to university next year)
A.	You can stop paying but if the mortgage goes into arrears then obviously as a joint owner you will be jointly and severally liable with your wife. I cannot advise as to what settlement is appropriate in respect of income or capital without full facts of the case but the Court will take into account who is caring for both children and their needs as well as yours and your wife's. Clearly if you are unable to continue paying for those outgoings then you and your wife need to try and discuss how to progress matters. Mediation may be an option for you both. Your local CAB may assist, but you could try going to a local solicitor for an initial interview free of charge.
Date: 19 Nov 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My husband has agreed to pay me a sum of £250 per month until July 2002. This is to cover joint debts that were amassed, but held in my name. I would like to include this in my divorce. How much will it cost to get this prepared ? Do I need to wait until this is done before submitting the initial petition ? What is the next step if I want to do this ?
A.	You will need what is known as a consent order which sets out the agreed financial settlement and stops any further claims in the future. This is lodged after Decree Nisi has been pronounced. Contact our panel Solicitors Frank or katie who will be happy to discuss your needs and quote for the work.( Experts Section) You do not need to delay filing the Petition unless you wish to apply for Pension Sharing which you will need to wait until December 2nd to do so.
Date: 7 Nov 2000 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	How much of my income to I have to pay to my estranged spouse? Is maintenance separate from those payments I make to may children as maintenance ?
A.	I have no idea without detailed knowledge of your finances. There is no set definition. However I can advise that it is appropriate for you to have the two issues defined separately in any order. Depending on age and income your wife may not have a spousal entitlement.
Date: 23 Oct 2000 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	I have been legally separated now for 9 years,but never divorced. My wife lived with someone else afterwards on & off for 9 years now. When we split my wife got more than half of my savings at the time. And it was a clean break.Clause in our agreement states that No more alimony be made available to her in the future,including periodical allowance, capital sum,or exhange of property.All that was asked of me was to support my children,of which I have done.I saw and still see everyday after school and they live with me during holidays.My eldest lives with me permanently now.What I would like to know is can she now come back for Half my Pension.because her circumstances have changed and she lives without a partner now.And can this new law overturn any other agreements.
A.	Although separation agreements are not legally recognised in England & Wales, they do carry substantial weight. Usually the terms of the same are incorporated into a Consent Order within the divorce proceedings when they are issued. Situations where this is not the case could be: 1. Where one party was coerced into agreeing the terms 2. Where one party did not obtain legal advice before signing 3. Where one party's circumstances have changed considerably since the making of the agreement. If none of the above apply then the clean break agreement will probably still stand, particularly as you have been separated for such a long time. Whether or not your wife's situation has changed enough for the agreement to be changed is difficult to say without knowing all the facts. If you intend to get divorced this will need to be sorted out. Advice - Go and get some legal advice about your finances asap. Read the sections on the site about finances, and if you want to do the divorce part yourself you can with Divorce-Online.
Date: 22 Oct 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My wife is keen to wait before issuing a divorce petition until the new pension sharing laws come into force on December 1st 2000. She, and her solicitor, have offered an attractive 50/50 split of the assets if I agree to wait until after Dec.1st. However, they have made the offer "entirely without prejudice" . I have asked my wife to sign an agreement that if I hold off the petition to allow pension sharing, that she will not renege on the 50/50 offer once she has the pension. Will such a written agreement have any weight if she later backs out of the deal once she has pension splitting available?
A.	No agreement is enforceable, as the Court will always havediscretion. However if the agreement is reached with Solicitors advice and signed as such, the Court would give it a great deal of weight
Date: 20 Oct 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I have been separated from my wife for 18 months awaiting the commencement of divorce proceedings. We were married for 8 years, separated amicably and separated our belongings without dispute. She is 30, I am 34. We are both in full-time employment and have no children. I have since been in a relationship with a woman who is now pregnant with our child. We are investigating buying a house together and will marry as soon as my divorce is complete. In the meantime I will support both her and our child. Will my wife have any claim on me for maintenance?
A.	It is unlikely she would be able to claim maintenenance for herself if she is in full time employment in any event, unless her needs justified extra income from you. The fact you will be having a new family will also weigh in your favour.
Date: 13 Oct 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	My question is about non payment of maintenance. My friend does not have an Internet connection so I am asking a question for her. They split up in January 2000 , she remained in the rented home with three children, twins aged nine and youngster of five . Husband took a flat near by and son aged 12 lived with his father, all generally by consent. Husband sees the children alternate weekends although often has them more often. They sold their family home several years ago and moved in to rented accommodation for him to invest money in an IT business. He is self-employed. His income last year was around £50,000. They have decree nisi. Although they have been to court at least four times on the subject, he continues to fail to pay maintenance or rent. The rent is £1,000 a month and he was ordered to pay £450 per month maintenance for the three children. He declares openly that he has no intention of paying anything. Although his income is not regular there is evidence that he is earning from documents produced in court. The result is that my friend has to work seven days a week and long hours at weekends in order to try to meet her financial obligations and keep a roof over her childrens heads. She has had some state assistance but that still does not fully cover rent etc. Although she has got the rent up-to-date there were arrears and she has been given notice to quit. The local authority have offered her alternative accommodation at approximately half the current rent. Even though the judge has instructed him to pay and given him a good telling off, he still refuses to pay the rent or maintenance, she has had less than £1500 since January. How can my friend get the maintenance she needs for the children, not for herself, she does not expect him to support her. Can an order be made for attachment of earnings or some similar mechanism? What other options are open to her to get the maintenance and rent she needs from him. Surely he cannot just ignore the court instruction without penalty. Thank you
A.	There are a number of options but cannot make an attachment of earnings order if he is self employed. If he is a company director then he is an employee and can be made to pay. The court can take money from bank accounts (garnishee); Charge property (charging order) or order someone else to pay who owes him money (also garnishee. There has been a case recently where a man refused to pay rent ordered under the family law act and the court could not make him go to prison because the Debtors Act (1860's) had not been excluded in the Act. I do not think this is the case with spousal or child maintenance and that is the ultimate sanction.
Date: 15 Sep 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	23years ago my ex-wife received a maintenance order of £1 per year from me when we divorced. She has now put in a claim, through the courts for an increase in this amount. Is she likely to win this increase.
A.	The answer is no quite simply. A nominal maintenance order is made to protect her position should she need supporting. However it would not have been intended to last 23 years. I think her chances of succeeding are extremely minimal, but you should comply with all requests from the Court and possibly make a cross application for the maintenene order to be dismissed. You should also take independent legal advice.
Date: 8 Sep 2000 Answered by: Gilliane Williams, Welfare Benefits Expert
Q.	Whilst judicially separated I petitioned for ancillary relief and my husband was ordered to pay periodical payments of £235 per calendar month for a period of 3 years. He defaulted and was subsequently ordered by an attachment of earnings order to pay £335.00 per month to discharge the arrears of £5405.00. This order has been complied with but there is still £3,000 outstanding from the original order. My question is would this constitute to him not complying with the original order. I did not realise at the time of going to court (I was incapacitated due to mental health state) that when this period was expired that I am not at liberty to make any further claim for financial provision of whatever nature under the Inheritance Act 1975. This has implications for my rights and his three adult sons to his Fire Service pension.
A.	The court has already recognised the default and as you say has subsequently hade an attachment of earnings order. This appears to have included a portion of the arrears, therefore his non-compliance has been dealt with. Further to the next point you make, it is advisable that you consult your solicitor on this matter and request that you have the issue fully explained. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need further assistance.
Date: 20 Aug 2000 Answered by: Gilliane Williams, Welfare Benefits Expert
Q.	I have been married for 28 years and now seeking divorce through mediation. I have a company pension with a transfer value of £110,000 what percentage of this would be reasonable to offer my estranged wife. Similarly, I have monthly net income of £1000. My wife claims benefits of approx £180 per week through severe disability allowance. I am severely impaired myself requiring 24 hour assistance to work and survive, most of which, is paid for by Social Services and the Employment Service under the Direct Payment and Access to Work schemes. What would be a resonable maintainance to offer?
A.	Dear Geoff, Apologies for the delay. Firstly the portion of your pension which may be reasonable often depends upon the particular circumstances of the marriage. As you have been married for a long period, and providing that your spouse has no pension rights of her own, it would be reasonable to expect to pay around a third. Of course this is negotiable and could go up to 50%. As you both receive assistance and your income is not much more than that of your spouse, it may be that you would be liable to pay minimal or no maintenance. You of course should be aware that evidence of financial status is always required when dealing with such issues, when preparing a financial statement you must be exact and include expenditure with regard to you medical condition, this could bring both incomes to an equal level. Please do no hesitate to contact divorce-online if we can be of further assistance.
Date: 21 Jul 2000 Answered by: Mark Keenan, Editor, Divorce-Online
Q.	I sent a question in yesterday morning regarding maintenance payments and how to reduce them, sorry to be so pushy but I have just sent off another payment leaving me with only £400 for the rest of the month (18th of August)I desperately need to go to court what forms do I need. Regards
A.	If you wish to apply for maintenance and a divorce petition has been issued you should go to your local county court and ask for An application for Ancillary relief and Form E. On the application you will need to apply for interim maintenance pending a full hearing. The procedure is set out in "legal process" finance- Applications. However you must take legal advice from a Solicitor immediately as this is not something we would recommend you do your self. you will most probably be elligble for Legal representation (legal aid).
Date: 18 Jul 2000 Answered by: Gilliane Williams, Welfare Benefits Expert
Q.	I am paying maintenance as put in place by a court order which contains the usual phase - "until determining events, such as remarriage, cohabitation ..." etc. My question relates to the definition of cohabitation, as currently, I pay one lot of money as child maintenance and another as ex-spouse maintenance. My ex has been seeing the man that caused our marriage break up for 4 years now and so I would call that a pretty stable relationship. They have 2 houses which are in different towns so he spends weekends up at her house and she spends as much time during the week as she can in his house. I think this is cohabitation. But with the luxury of having 2 houses out of it - one paid for by me! I plan to go to court to appeal - would I have any chance though?
A.	Dear Richard I can empathise with your predicament here, the legal definition of cohabitation is; "Living together as husband and wife" (for heterosexual couples of course) Although the couple in question do spend time together, it appears that they maintain individual households therefore it would be difficult to establish cohabitation as they are not in effect living together. You would have to establish that one household is treated as a main residence of the couple, ie if they have any joint commitments or spend the majority of time in one household. However, this does not prevent you from requesting that your maintenance order be varied if financial circumstances have changed in any way.
Date: 18 Jul 2000 Answered by: Gilliane Williams, Welfare Benefits Expert
Q.	My Mother has asked me to find out some information regarding her divorce from my Father. He has left with another woman and now lives in Georgia (Russia). My Father has promised to send my Mother half of any money he earns. My Mother would like to know if she will have to pay tax on this money. She does not work and has to financially support my younger brother (18yrs old). I hope you can help shed some light on this matter.
A.	Whether this source of income is taxable would depend on the amount and whether your mother has any other income which would take her over the allocated tax allowance.Any income from abroad is treated exactly the same as income from a UK source.For information on tax allowances you can contact your local tax office. However, if the income from your father is classed as child maintenance then part of it may be disregarded. If you mother has no other source of income at present then she may be entitled to income support, help with council tax and single parent allowance. She would entitled to full benefits providing she has less than £3,000 savings or assets. If your mother does claim income support then she will be obliged to co-operate with the CSA (child support agency)who may initiate proceedings to recover child maintenance on her behalf.
Date: 18 Jul 2000 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	My question concerns maintainance after divorce. My ex wife received a settlement in court of approximately 70% of capital. I was also required to maintain her £650 and my daughter £450 per month. Immediately, after the settlement my daughter asked to move in with me, as my wife was living with another man. My daughter has now been with me for nearly 3 years. She is now 18 years old. I applied to court again to get the child maintainence removed from the court order and also won a reduction of £200 per month to £450 per month as my ex wifes new partner's income was not considered at the time of the original hearing. My ex wife has also had a baby by her partner. I am obviously not too happy about having to continue to pay maintainance when my ex wife has a stable and settled relationship with a child. My wife has no job but has the income from the £82500 she received from me. We were married 15 years. Of course if she married this man, who has an income which is small (£14000), I would not have to pay maintenance but she wont do that for obvious reasons. I can not plead that I can't afford the maintenance either. Is their any way I might be able to stop paying maintenance? Your advice is appreciated.
A.	Clearly it was not a term of the order that maintenance should cease on cohabitation. However it can be considered a ground for going back to court to cease maintenance all together. Beware if they are on a joint low income as the Court may consider that your wife earned the right to continued maintenance due to the length of the marriage and other factors and therefore this right will not be revoked. It might be worth going to see a local solicitor with all the papers and paying for an advice from counsel to see what your chances are. These often only cost about £200 -£300 and therefore it might be worth the outlay.
Date: 25 May 2000 Answered by: Barristers, 18 Carlton Crescent
Q.	My wife has commenced divorce proceedings against me and will be making a financial claim against me. I have heard the term “clean break” used in connection with financial proceedings. What does this mean?
A.	In the financial proceedings, or ancillary relief proceedings as lawyers call them, the parties may agree or the court may order a distribution of assets without the husband ever having to pay any maintenance to his former spouse for herself. This has given rise to the term a clean break, which is taken from the Matrimonial Causes Act. Maintenance for an ex-wife is not to be confused with child maintenance. Whilst the parties may agree no child maintenance, that would not be Legally binding and an ex-wife may at a later stage successfully apply for maintenance for children If the court has ordered a dismissal of the wife’s claims for maintenance she is stuck with that save for exceptional circumstances e.g. the original order was made without there being full disclosure of his finances.
Date: 12 May 2000 Answered by: Katie Went, Solicitor, Bower & Bailey
Q.	My wife has left me and gone to live with another man. It was all very sudden and I do not know what to do. I am in the house with a 15-year-old boy, all the furniture, our pets and the car. My wife says she will not pay for anymore bills now she has left and I cannot afford them on my own. She also wants half the house. Can I get maintenance from her as she earns more and will I have to sell the house? What are the general principles involved?
A.	Maintenance There are two elements, maintenance for your son and maintenance for you. Maintenance for your son can be dealt with either by voluntary arrangement with your wife of through the Child support Agency if it cannot be agreed. Please note the Court has no jurisdiction to adjudicate on child maintenance disputes. When considering maintenance for you, the Court will consider how much you and your spouse earn and will balance the this against your reasonable needs. If these are met by your own income then maintenance will not be applicable. Capital When considering the house or other financial capital assets has a duty to consider the following as set down by law: A: income, earning capacity and property and other financial resources which each of the parties may have: B: financial needs, obligations and responsibilities of the parties: C: the standard of living enjoyed by the parties prior to marriage breakdown; D: the age of the parties and duration of the marriage; E: physical and mental capacity of the parties F: Contributions made by each of the parties to the welfare of the family However the Courts has a duty to consider primarily in the first instance the needs of the children.
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