Spousal Maintenance vs Universal Credit

[sallysm]

I'm confused about how courts balance an order for spousal maintenance (SM) against universal credit, given that receiving SM results in a £ for £ reduction in universal credit (UC).

For example, let's say someone without a job and 1 preschooler, says their reasonable needs are £1200 a month, and their husband is on 40k.

So the Ex has to pay about £400 child maintenance
That leaves a shortfall of £800

Does the court order the Ex to pay £800 SM? (leaving him to live on £1100) Or do they tell the person to claim the £800 (as possible) from UC instead?

If you can’t afford to take on the mortgage and pay for it, ( and be eligible for the mortgage) it’s highly likely the house will have to be sold.

It’s highly unlikely he’ll be expected to pay the mortgage. It’s also not an automatic right to remain in the house until child is 18- especially in cases here children are very young g as this ties him financially for a long period and impacts his own mortgage raising abilities

You need proper legal advice but it’s quite possible the house will have to be sold with you receiving larger share of equity

Your maintenance will be reduced based on the number of nights he has your joint child

Call me cynical but I’m thinking the o/p will be finding ways to not allow overnights...

How old is your child o/p?

Not a lawyer but I think you might be able to stay on in the family home till the youngest is 18 if you pay the mortgage. Then when the youngest is 18 the house is sold and the proceeds split 50/50

However if I was advising and the above was the case then I would do a couple of calculations. If you sold now, split the proceeds, went into a cheap rental whilst you find work and are then able to take out a mortgage on even a 1 or 2 bed flat and worked your way up in 10 years how much could you be worth as opposed to paying the whole mortgage on a house that you only own 50% of and in 10 years having to start from scratch again just with a little bit more money but as everything else has gone up still only being able to afford a 1 bed flat and getting a mortgage might be more difficult.

It is up to you but I think you have to be sensible. Years ago you might have got spousal maintenance and your ex husband would be linked to you for life but now you need to start looking after yourself

Decent chance you can pay that mortgage if you GET A JOB. Face it.
He's not going to keep you for the next 15 years. Doesn't work like that.

OP you will absolutely not get SM unless he's on 6 figures minimum. Even then, it'll only be til you get a job, not forever. How long was you married as well, a short marriage won't fare well in financial affairs. As for the mortgage, he can pay that until your youngest child is 18, but then he can sell the house. He could even sell it before I think unless you have a court order, or he could go for full custody of your child.

For anyone who has been through the courts, what are the sort of legal fees involved? And for solicitors? And surely you can just self represent if you won't want a solicitor? Wh

I was quoted about 10k

If you’re thinking of trying that to get SM you may as well burn the cash.

You wont get SM on 50k either

Your best bet is to get a free half hour advice appointment with a solicitor who will tell you your options straight and to the point.

Yes solicitors are very expensive. My divorce cost x3 what I was originally quoted.

Have you looked on government website for benefit calculators? That will give you a rough idea. You can put in rough figures for rentals in your area also to get an idea of costs.

I dont think your stbex will be paying the mortgage either. He might agree to pay it instead of CM. But not as well as CM. If you live there, you will probably be the one to pay it.

You sound like you want to bled him dry.

I tried to go for spousal support from my exh.

I had worked to support him through uni, training and the first years of his career, we had to move so that he could progress and I was forced to give up my career, I tried to start again in the new city but it was too hard to juggle all the household work and my job, exh was completely consumed by his career so did not help at all.
In the end I had to give up on my career to focus on our family and running our home.

Taking the time out completely destroyed my career and it would have been impossible to get back into after a few years out, I would have had to completely retrain.

When we split he was earning just over £120K

I couldn’t leave the area because of the DC’s school, but housing was so expensive there I would have struggled massively with my limited eating potential.
I found a job but it was low paid and I couldn’t afford to retrain in my old career at that time.

I was told by several solicitors that I had a very good case for spousal support, I had enabled him to get his career and progress and had supported him and given up my good career to help him achieve his.

I didn’t want to be unreasonable, I only asked for him to minimally financially support me for the time it would take for me to retrain in my old career,
My solicitors said I had a very strong case and exh’s solicitor seemed to think the same thing but the judge said while he was sympathetic to my case and thought I deserved a higher share of the marital assets due to my support of exh he would not be awarding spousal support, he said it is reserved for very special cases and he did not believe we met the criteria, he said most courts wouldn’t even entertain an application for it unless it was a significant income and a very long marriage with additional circumstances.

Exh agreed to let me have a larger portion of the assets and then after court offered to pay an extra £2k a month in child maintenance for a year or two while I retrained.

What I’m trying to say is on a salary like that you have no chance of being awarded spousal support, it would just never happen, it’s too low.

Also in regards to the house, you can go for a mesher order to delay the sale of the house and keep you living in it, but it will not force your exh to continue to pay the mortgage, so if you can’t pay the mortgage you can’t stay in the house and a sale will be forced.

Your best bet is to try to agree on a financial statement that works for you both.

Are you listening? You need to get a job like everyone else.

OP have you posted about this several times under different names?

This is all very familiar.

For anyone who has been through the courts, what are the sort of legal fees involved? And for solicitors? And surely you can just self represent if you won't want a solicitor

Yes you can self represent. A friend did all the work but did get a solicitor to look over everything before she submitted everything. That alone cost her £4500.

I have a couple of friends going through a divorce at the moment. The bills are standing at £70,000 and £85,000 and neither is over yet.

BlueThistles

OP have you posted about this several times under different names?

This is all very familiar.

I was thinking the same thing. Several threads about share of pension etc then second wife popped up with her own thread !
OP I don’t know what you are reading or who you are listening to but , as someone who went through a difficult separation and divorce I strongly advise you to start earning your own money and not depend on your ex . As far as I know ( and as others have said) he is only obliged to pay CM .

I can't honestly believe the op is still harping on about this!

He doesn't have a legal obligation to pay the mortgage. He can refuse and the bank will then decide if the house needs to be sold. But this will affect his credit rating, and if he's amicable he might pay the interest on the mortgage whilst this divorce is sorted out.

In my experience this isn't the way a judge will want it. They want the matter resolved and the children provided for with the fairest outcome.
It's more likely the house will be ordered sold and you borrow your husbands equity to buy a mortgage free home until the youngest is 18. It is then sold to divide the equity then.

You need to work on CM, CB, working and universal credit figures. This is your best outcome for a divorce. You are in an enviable position in that you won't have a mortgage once you downsize.

Your husbands only obligation will be the CM. £40,000 is barely in the second tax bracket. Even £50,000 is very little for tax purposes.

I believe those who pay super tax (the ones who have to go to court to decide CM as the income cannot be entered into the CM calculator) are sometimes considered to pay SM. From memory this is over £3,000 income a week or over £150,000 a year.

I think you have to get your mind round the fact that 40,000 or 50,000 or 60,000 or 70,000 is still not a lot to earn to support 2 households or even doubling those figures is not considered enough money to be considered for spousal maintenance.
I think you could be awarded £1 per year in case of a huge change in his circumstances but I think you need to stop thinking that you will be awarded any more than 50% of the equity in the house, child maintenance if you don’t have 50/50 childcare, a share of the cars and furniture and maybe some of his pension.
It might seem unfair and financially it isn’t great for the person who is left with the children, hence the 50/50 joint custody terms which impact both parties equally.
But you have to deal with the reality of your situation. You cannot expect life long care from your ex no matter how much you want to punish him.

@Oldbutstillgotit

BlueThistles

OP have you posted about this several times under different names?

This is all very familiar.

I was thinking the same thing. Several threads about share of pension etc then second wife popped up with her own thread !
OP I don’t know what you are reading or who you are listening to but , as someone who went through a difficult separation and divorce I strongly advise you to start earning your own money and not depend on your ex . As far as I know ( and as others have said) he is only obliged to pay CM .

yes definitely the same poster then...

looks like they will never resolve anything due to the OP's refusal to engage in rule of law. 🌺

Different details but I’m reminded very much of this thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/divorce_separation/3684773-What-might-I-get-if-I-divorce-as-Im-not-entitled-to-benefits

That last thread is an eye opener! He owns the flat and the majority of the equity was from before the marriage.

Without question you are going to have to get a full time job, you can share child care costs with your ex and do the rest between you. There is no option here for you to be a SAHM.

Just read the other thread with mouth wide open. Jesus what a cheeky fucker!!

[quote Redlocks28]Different details but I’m reminded very much of this thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/divorce_separation/3684773-What-might-I-get-if-I-divorce-as-Im-not-entitled-to-benefits[/quote]

yip 🌺

Actually this is not the OP I thought . The one I was meaning was much more recent but the same sense of entitlement.

How much is your rent or do you own your own home?

Your UC payment seems low, I would ask to have it recalculated.

Have you applied for council tax reduction?

I do agree it is unfair that one parent is able to go out and earn money while the resident parent's earnings are severely restricted by looking after a small child.