Maintenance for disabled child post 18yrs?

[52andblue]

I have been married 20 years.
We have 2 children, both Autistic. One aged 17, one aged 14.
Both are (just about) in mainstream ed. but struggle in many ways.
Both received DLA at the highest level for care & mobility.
My husband left last June after many years of giving me & them no support, walking out when things got tough & separate bedrooms.

I am seeking a Legal Separation (Scotland) prior to Divorce.
I am getting Legal Aid but have a trainee working on my case who seems unsure of many things. It has taken from June - Jan to get a draft of the Sep Ag. In it I would get to stay in the house, receive 50% of his pension for the 20 yrs we were married, & he will pay maintenance until each child is 18.
In reality I have not been able to work for 17 years &, being mid 50's, will struggle to build a career now as I am still years away from the kids being independent (if they ever are). Would it be reasonable legally to ask for maintenence whilst the kids are living at home, not just for another 8m as it will be for my eldest & 3yrs6m for my youngest?

Ooops. Just spotted that there is a dedicated Divorce & Separation section. I will ask for this to be moved there.

Hi op, what benefits are the kids on now as you said 'they received' do they not get this anymore? Do they have a social worker or someone who could help to make sure they are getting everything entitled to?

sorry @MichelleScarn
didnt' mean to put past tense.
6m ago Ds (17) got new 3 yr award for PIP enhanced for care & mobility
Dd (14) gets DLA high care & med mob ( 2.5 yrs into 3 yr fresh award)

As long as they are still getting it! Are you getting carers allowance/child benefit? Don't really know much about it, but am sure there's something about making sure your ni 'stamp' goes through to make sure you get your full state pension.

How old will you and he be when they turn 18?

If it is post retirement age I suspect you will struggle to get extra maintenance.

As you will both have retired and you both have 50% of the pension each, you'll have identical incomes.

I'm not familiar with Scotland, but in England at this point as incomes are equalised you would be extremely unlikely to get extra maintenance.

(Also in England maintenance agreements only last a year whatever is decided and then either person can revert to CMS so even if it was agreed it wouldn't go anywhere).

Yes, I get Carers allowance.

I can see that they will need parental support well into their 20's.
I wondered whether there was any way of making sure he pays half.

I'll be 54 (ds) & 58 (dd).
I'm in Scotland not England. I had no idea maintenance agreements only last a year - that's really daft !

Definitely check the rules and see if the one year thing applies in Scotland.

Do you know when his pension is available / when he plans to retire. If 60/65 you may have a case for a few more years support. If the one year CM also applies in Scotland the could you look at spousal instead of extra CM?

Also - how much does he earn? That will impact things. And if you are keeping the house, how is he going to house himself? Will he have a new mortgage that he'll be paying?

How does his income stack up against your benefits and is the house mortgage free or will you need to take over payments?

www.nevesllp.co.uk/our-news/child-maintenance-for-adult-children#:~:text=If%20a%20child%20is%2018%20years%20old%20or,a%20parent%20may%20do%20this%20on%20their%20behalf.

@onceuponathread - he plans to work for another 10-12 years. He earns 28k. House has interest only mort (therefore low-ish repayments atm but ends in 8 years, no vehicle to repay) which I've been paying 100% of out of my benefits for 6m since he walked out, there is no equity in the house as he kept increasing the mortgage.

@mumwon - thank you this is really helpful!