Is There More Than One Kind Of Maintenance?
Maintenance can be one of the more difficult aspects of arranging your finances on separation.
If you have children, most of us readily understand and accept that they need to be paid for somehow, so maintenance for them is not usually a major issue. Indeed, working out what to pay for children is not something the courts get involved with anyway (other than in certain limited circumstances), leaving it instead to the Child Maintenance Service. In simple terms, the CMS will work out what has to be paid by applying a formula to the maintenance payer’s gross income, taking into account various factors including how often the children stay overnight with the maintenance payer.
But spousal maintenance as ordered by a court, paid from one ex-spouse to another to meet their needs, is often less obvious. Some of us have very strong feelings as to whether such payments are fair or not – often tied in with our perceptions as to why the marriage has ended. And even once you’ve decided that there should be a spousal maintenance order, how much will it be and how long will it last? Even the most experienced family lawyers find predicting these things difficult because different judges come to different conclusions.
So if you can come to a figure you can each live with – probably more than one of you wants to pay but less than the other wants to receive – it’s well worth it.
If you have more questions about this topic or any other legal issues arising on divorce or separation, please do get in touch as we are always happy to help. You can call us on 0203 488 4475 or email contact@thedivorcesurgery.co.
Author Name: Editor
Published content by The Divorce Surgery Editorial Team.
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