Ex has stopped maintenance

[blackteasplease]

Just that.

Maintenance is court ordered, I.e. the court ordered him to pay a certain amount which is more than csa amount until youngest is 18 to make up for getting more than his fair share of equity in the house.

Surely he can't just ignore a court order?

I am getting legal advice on Friday but just asking for any experience.

No he can’t just stop

Is it just child maintenance or global maintenance which includes child and spousal? If just child maintenance I think court order is only enforceable fir first year.

I believe he’d need to apply for a variation if he wanted or needed it to change

Global maintenance.

Specifically says until youngest is 18 though.

Thanks milly

He can apply for a variation but would need to demonstrate something had significantly changed to his circumstances I believe and this would have to be agreed by a judge

He can’t just decide not to pay

Has he said anything about it?

Your ex has to honour the Court Order until it is changed or replaced by another order.

Bit odd that court awarded a global figure inclusive of child maintenance as CMS has jurisdiction over child maintenance. Maybe you need to read the order again to check if it has some caveat about child maintenance being dealt with by CMS once the order has been in place for 12 months.

There's definitely not a caveat about . I had legal advice at the time.

He has had a change if circs in that he anticipates a drop in income in six months time IF HE DOES NOTHING TO SORT IT OUT but I believe as others have said he had to keep paying until he applies to court.

He also had a massive bonus at Xmas that he didn't disclose that he was anticipating in the proceedings.

I'm advised that while the court can't oust the jurisdiction of the cms by making maintenance less, they can make an order for you to receive more as global maintenance.

they can make an order for you to receive more as global maintenance

I think you mean more Spousal Maintenance so that the total of both Child Maintenance remains the same.

Why on earth did you and your solicitor allow him a greater share of the house equity based on paying you an amount that:
(a) can be challenged after a year
(b) can be continually challenged thereafter if he has a change of circumstances
(c) is really bloody hard to enforce if he starts dicking you about?! You can spend years and £ in court trying to get what is ordered.

Why didn’t you force him to make the bonus disclosure? Or was that received after your settlement was finalised?

This is a sign of things to come. I would be asking your solicitor if there is a chance your XH already knew he had a change of circumstances on the horizon, and if that is enough to to claim the disclosure wasn’t full - and allow you to start again. I wouldn’t be giving up equity in return for maintenance for anyone - let alone someone now proven to dick you about!

Bonus wasn't known by me at the time.

I let him have more equity than he should as I was desperate to get out of there.

Lawyer did advise me to stick out for more but he wasn't stuck living with emotional abuse and the courts listing hearings many months down the line.

I couldn't take another minute than I had to.

To OP

I fully understand what you said in last post. My advisers thought I was being too generous on Spousal Maintenance, but after 2 years I wanted it to be over. Also bothered that Judge could have made an order that neither myself nor ex wanted.

Peace of mind has no price limit.

That's so true beers

I still don't have peace of mind though as he's stopping maintenance, now demanding more contact time (whilst not managing what he has had) and upsetting our dd by treating her unfairly.

Not a drip feed - the maintenance suddenly stopped and now all these other issues are coming up!

Did u ask for too much maintenance?

Sometimes asking for too much is counter productive - they get fed up and no longer want to keep paying so much

The maintenance was court ordered. So it is binding until the order is amended or replaced with another order. Maintenance can be revisited by either party at any time if circumstances change.

Other than the paying person having become redundant or has developed an illness or disability that prevents them from working

Thanks all. beers I've had some advice pretty much along those lines, that it's perfectly enforceable and if he wants a variation he would have to apply.

I don't know how it works in the UK but if its court ordered surely you can apply to the court to have his wages garnished

I don't think it's called garnishing here "attachment of earnings" I think. But that is one if the courts' powers.

I've written him a strongly worded letter referencing the order. If he doesn't pay he gets another threatening court action if unpaid by x date. Then if he still doesn't pay I apply.to court.