Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Divorce/separation

Here you'll find divorce help and support from other Mners. For legal advice, you may find Advice Now guides useful.

Is this reasonable financial split and child maintenance?

266 replies

GerdaMyArse · 12/05/2019 17:14

I’ve been separated for over two years and the divorce is now happening (he is divorcing me).

My Ex is currently giving me £500 a month for our 13 year old child, paying school fees and sometimes other ad-hoc expenses like school trips. But this isn’t enough to cover all the music lessons and other expenses there are. I think that he should be paying more. I’m also thinking of asking him for spousal maintenance.

Also he doesn’t think a 70/30 split on the house is fair.

I don’t know what is normal in these circumstances. Advice please.

OP posts:
clpsmum · 12/05/2019 17:16

I think it's 16% of his net pay that he has to pay by law

GerdaMyArse · 12/05/2019 17:18

16% of his net pay is only about £336 a month. That’s not enough!

OP posts:
booboo82 · 12/05/2019 17:20

I think your getting more than enough tbh

hsegfiugseskufh · 12/05/2019 17:22

So hes paying school fees, £500 maintenance a month on a wage of what 30 grand ish? And you want more?

Do you work?

GerdaMyArse · 12/05/2019 17:23

I’ve no idea how I’d manage on less than £500 a month maintenance. I only earn about 20K

Really worried about how I’m going to cope financially.

OP posts:
hsegfiugseskufh · 12/05/2019 17:24

Ahahahhaa try coping on £26 a week in child maintenance.

Or yeno cut down on music lessons. Send your child to state school. Live within your means.

MummyOfTwo92 · 12/05/2019 17:25

Surely you get child tax and child benefit?
We are a low income family. 16k before tax at the moment and we manage. I do agree with everyone else that commented. You are getting a lot of him now

TitianaTitsling · 12/05/2019 17:25

Why not 50/50 split on house or are you looking for 100% for you?

GerdaMyArse · 12/05/2019 17:26

I moved out of the martial home a couple of years ago and since then he has lived there with lodgers in the spare rooms (I get money from one lodger) but obviously once the house is sold I won’t have this.

Currently I pay to rent a flat myself and he pays the mortgage for the house.

I’m worried I won’t be able to manage once I’m divorced.

OP posts:
hsegfiugseskufh · 12/05/2019 17:27

If he only earns 10k ish more than you why do you think you deserve such a big % of the property?

MummyOfTwo92 · 12/05/2019 17:28

I missed the property part...think you should both have 50/50 once that sells. It's only fair.

GerdaMyArse · 12/05/2019 17:29

I only get child benefit - nothing else. I’m not on any benefits.

I want 70% of the house and a flat that we also own overseas - so that I can afford to buy another property for myself and our child.

OP posts:
MummyOfTwo92 · 12/05/2019 17:32

@GerdaMyArse does he not have your child some off the time? To me personally I think that's totally unreasonable. 50/50 on everything and both leave it at that. Like a previous poster said, live to your means. No offence in this, I just think you are being unreasonable especially when he already pays so much for one child. Don't think you would get that of CSA

GerdaMyArse · 12/05/2019 17:32

I don’t agree with this divorce - he’s divorcing me. I’m being put in this position because of his selfishness - so why should I agree to 50/50?

I want to be able to buy something outright and to have financial stability.

OP posts:
titchy · 12/05/2019 17:33

Will 30% enable him to buy as well?

titchy · 12/05/2019 17:35

You can't expect to have the same standard of living post-divorce. Frankly on salaries of £30k and £20k I'm amazed you ever thought private education was possible.

Something, probably quite a lot in your case, has to give.

GerdaMyArse · 12/05/2019 17:36

Up until recently he looked after our child for about 10 days & nights a month while I’m working (he used to come to my flat as I work away). But then he said he intends to stop this once we are divorced and that he wants to live near us. I want our child to have just one home and not have to move between two - so unsettling. So now I’ve told him he can’t look after our child in my home. So currently he’s only seeing our son for Sundays in the day and some weekday evenings.

OP posts:
MsSquiz · 12/05/2019 17:38

If I was you, I would consider the bigger picture. If you keep going for 70/30, I can guarantee the maintenance that he pays will not stay at that amount! Neither will the additional ad hoc expenses continue to be covered. If you were awarded the 70/30, I have no doubt that he will tell you to go through CMS for the maintenance.

When divorce occurs, your lifestyle does usually take a knock, and you have to live within your means, and not just to the lifestyle you are used to.

And I say this as a woman who's father paid £0 maintenance my full life, and my DM worked up to 3 jobs at once to send me to a private school

Bluestitch · 12/05/2019 17:38

Is this a reverse? Or a new partner trying to elicit responses about the awful greedy ex?

He's paying well over the CMS minimum as well as school fees and other costs, and you want spousal maintenance too? He doesn't sound like a particularly high earner, and maybe you need to start living more within your means.

GerdaMyArse · 12/05/2019 17:38

Sorry above may seem confusing - he now doesn’t have our child for any nights at all - which surely means a larger maintenance figure?

OP posts:
MummyOfTwo92 · 12/05/2019 17:39

How old is your child? I agree it will be different but your child should still have regular contact and over night stays with their dad

MrsElijahMikaelson1 · 12/05/2019 17:39
Shock
Knickersononeshead · 12/05/2019 17:40

Honestly, look at what your child is already receiving, then some of the threads on MN about ex dickheads not paying a penny towards their child..

You may have a better outlook.

Fml.

GerdaMyArse · 12/05/2019 17:40

I don’t know what you mean by reverse?

OP posts:
MummyOfTwo92 · 12/05/2019 17:40

He's not having the child on a night because of you stopping it by what I can gather? You sound all about what YOU can get.

Swipe left for the next trending thread