Does child maintenance cover the mortgage?

[Blondeandinept]

My solicitor has just advised me of what I should expect in child maintenance by law. However I am not clear, is this figure to include paying the mortgage?

I am a SAHM and will be for another 1.5 years approx

Many thanks

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

That's a confusing question. For the most part, I'd imagine that child maintenance alone wouldn't pay the mortgage, no. For one child, it's 15% of weekly earnings, 20% for two.

Depending on your circumstances, there may be some benefits that you can claim too, although these won't be specifically for covering your mortgage unless you qualify for mortgage interest help. You might also have to find work, if you don't already, or up your hours - again depending on your income, you should get some help with childcare costs.

Not very many people can get spousal maintenance these days.

If you can't afford the mortgage once you've considered everything, you can either come to a private arrangement with your exH, or sell the house and split the proceeds.

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

Don't know how I forgot the SAHM part so soon after reading it... Depending on the ages of your children, you might not get that choice. If you have a child under 5 and a very low income, you might qualify for Income Support, although it's not much.

If your children are above 5, or you don't want to sell and your exH won't fund any mortgage payments, you'll be expected to work.

Do be aware that if your area has rolled out universal credit, that can make a difference, too.

The Turn2Us website might be useful for working out calculations?

[Cabrinha]

The calculation by the CMS of the legal minimum child maintenance is based solely on the non resident parent's income - not outgoings, including mortgage.

If you want your XH to pay the mortgage as well, you need to negotiate that.

It may be that you cannot be both divorced and a SAHP.

Waa it your first solicitor appointment? They should have been clear about this.