Spousal maintenance query - ex’s salary

[Nearlyalldone]

Hi -

Just wanting to check your thoughts on something. Divorce process is likely to start in the next few months. My ex is a higher-rate tax payer who earns between £65,000-£70,000 a year plus receives bonuses and has company shares. I’m not in the higher-rate tax band and earn at least £20,000 less per year than him (with no bonuses or company shares etc).

In this case, would spousal maintenance be considered? I don’t actually want to receive the spousal maintenance from him , I’m just wondering if it could be used to offset against the equity in the matrimonial home which we own jointly (where I live with the kids - he’s moved out). Reducing his share of the equity will help me to buy him out.

For context, if relevant, we have 2 children under 10. CMS not officially set up but the ex pays me a similar amount to what the CMS payment would be each month.

Thanks!

You aren’t going to get spousal maintenance if you earn £45-50k per year and receive child support. You both probably have the same income when tax and child support deductions/ receipts are taken into account.

Not a chance

OK - thanks for letting me know! Just wanted to check my potential options to sort out finances.

Why would you think it should?
you work on a decent salary
he needs to pay cms
yiu split joint assets

from
then on you are 2 individuals who happen to earn different amounts

Spousal maintenance is rare these days. You earn a decent salary so very unlikely I’m afraid.

Your joking right? Why should you get additional support when your on a decent wage? After a divorce that finances are sorted that should be the end of it.

No chance.
Why should you anyway?

It depends on how much his bonus and shares equate to. If they double or triple his salary then of course spousal maintenance is a possibility.

If they nudge him into an early 6 figures salary then it is unlikely.

Even then it's unlikely. Spousal maintenance isn't to level people's salaries up (except in compensation cases where a SAHM used to have a high flying career, e.g. McFarlane), that's the mistake my ex-wife made.

Spousal maintenance is for needs, not equality, and the income differential makes absolutely no difference if a need cannot be proven. Some hardship is also acceptable though not undue hardship.

If someone on £50k was married to someone on £200k spousal maintenance would still be unlikely because they would struggle to prove that they need it.

Greed?

Everything goes in the pot when looking at the division of assets - pensions, house equity, debts, savings etc

Sorry not a cat in hells chance of SM It's rarer than hens teeth in this country. Would he agree to pay more cm as he's such a high earner. Would he consider letting his kids stay in the home longer with a masher order.

I think the answers would be no and no. These kind of solutions are so old fashioned. The fairest solution in the 21st century is that men need to step up and do more child care so that women have time to work and build their careers. That gives both independence from the other.

I’m not sure it is. It’s certainly the norm in people I know who have divorced. From talking they seem to get about £2k a month plus maintenance

I think you should ask on Legal Matters or the divorce and separation board, or pay for one off legal advice. I (and all my divorced friends) receive spousal maintenance, it's not as rare as MN make out. And mine was very much about equalising our income (long marriage, my career damaged by caring responsibilities and a dickhead ex who didn't do any caring. At all.)

It will depend on your ages, any disabilities or I'll health etc, which might mean you won't get it.

*ill

If only more women would actually allow that in divorce. There's dickheads and horrible people on every side of a divorce, but legions of dad's who are being purposefully kept at arms lengths

Just realised this is divorce and separation 🙄🙂

Statistically it applies in about 16% of marriages mostly in the south and mostly nominal.

I live in the south and my wife's solicitor told her she had no chance of spousal maintenance. I earn 4 times what she does and getting close to £100k but she never gave up a career which might have been a factor. Also if I gave her £2k plus CM she would get more than half my net income which would be ridiculous.

Most of the people I know who pay SM offered it to keep more of the capital. I preferred a clean break.

The payer would have to be earning an awful lot to pay all that. I'm on close to £90k and to pay £2k SM and CM (which if I didn't make pension contributions would be £700ish based on a 65/35 childcare split) which would be 55% of my net income.

I guess in theory a judge could order that level of maintenance but what kind of a mug is going to just carry on working in their stressful, high paid job whilst their ex financially abuses them by refusing to build their own earning capacity?

One other thought. When did you divorce? Spousal maintenance started falling out of favour quite quickly after the welfare reforms introducing universal credit (you didn't lose SM if you received tax credits but do if you receive UC, £ for £) and after Wright Vs Wright, Waggott Vs Waggott and a handful of other cases. So it's really only in the last 5 or 6 years that they've become increasingly rare.

Certainly equalisation of income is exceptionally rare because it is rare that there is enough income for the compensation principle to apply and also quite rare for the recipient to actually have given up a career. Most people with careers these days tend to go back to work and pay for childcare. It tends to be people who don't earn enough to pay for childcare who become SAHPs these days rather than people who had careers. Mostyn J has been quite clear about SM not being used to equalise income and that the standard of living during the marriage becomes more irrelevant over time.

Unless you and your friends divorced very recently I doubt your experience would be of much relevance now. I might even venture to say your ex might be successful in applying for a variation.

It would only happen with a long marriage where the husband is a very high earner and the wife has given up all chance of a career to care for the home and children, and importantly, has contributed to the husbands career. This by home management, socialising with him and so on. In most marriages this doesnt occur, and is more for the older generation where this type of marriage was mor common.

Spousal maintenance is mostly considered on a needs basis so I would say that the difference in salaries, if the kids are with you most of the time, may mean you get a higher percentage of the equity/assets.

By the way, there is no damage in asking and no, it is not grabby. Just that mumsnet really doesn’t have much patience for women high earners.

I see people talking about Mesher orders but as with spousal maintenance and your a good salary, you may be much better off with a clean break.

No, sorry, this is just not right. Spousal maintenance is a needs based payment. If a need can be proven (normally difficult as you are expected to maximise earning capacity) and your ex-spouse has the ability to pay (normally very difficult because if the higher earning spouse they probably got less of the assets and are servicing a large mortgage or rent to meet their needs) the SM might come into play.

It has nothing to do with whether you invited the boss to a dinner party. There have been cases where people have challenged stellar contribution like Dennis Vs Dennis where the wife had also done a lot to build the business but this is not the whole legal basis of SM.

Indeed, especially with a not huge income differential. He might be one redundancy away from earning less than OP and OP might be one promotion away from earning more. In all parties' interests to try and get a clean break.