Spousal Maintenance: £1 reduction for every £2 earned - what's your experience?

[Bobsmyaunty]

Hello!

Brief background is that I'm recently separated from a high earner. I've managed to get back into work to a not terribly paid job, but I'm part time so my earnings aren't particularly high. He will pay CM & has agreed to Spousal Maintenance to meet the different between our needs and my earnings & CM. It's not a huge amount but it makes a massive difference - without it, every month would be exceptionally tight for us. And he has WAY more than enough for a single man who has the kids 30% of the time. He's always doing super fancy things with the kids that I can't afford.

ANYWAY - I've got a new job starting in Jan and he's now worried I'll be earning more and is putting the £1 reduction for ever £2 earned over and above my current salary.

What is everyone's experience of this?

I'm assuming it will only benefit him.

Thank you!

Seems fair, 50% taper rate basically. I get £600 a month spousal, if I earned £1200 more a month I wouldn't expect to receive anything.

Yep - I get that.

Just a bit annoying that after sacrificing my career to help his prosper, me once again clawing my way back up the ladder makes very little difference to my bottom line, only his!

Is the spousal agreed in a consent order? You say separated not divorced so it sounds like a private agreement and at his discretion. Getting spousal at all is compensation for the sacrifices you feel you made. From his POV if you’re starting a higher earning job you haven’t been that disadvantaged for his benefit.

Thank you - and this is a fair point.

I was earning more than him when we met, he now earns what I earn in a month in a day and a half! However, I have a lot of friends and happiness, so I am reminding myself these are the things that count.

We are not divorced yet and are working this out between us so I'm guessing this should then go into a formal consent order?

Will your earning sacrifice already be compensated by share of assets you receive ? If so seems fair that you can pay your own way and have been compensated already

We agreed a 60/40 split because I would not be granted a mortgage and had no other options available to me (he had a big inheritance & could easily get a mortgage but didn't need to in the end).

However, I'm not sure if a 60/40 split could be called a fair compensation for the absence of a continued and lucrative career that would take me into my old age, including the option to put into a pension? Feels a little old fashioned to think in a way.

I think - after my experience - the only fair option is for men & women to do an equal amount of childcare & working & domestic labour.

You are better off getting a bigger share of the capital and a share of his pension than relying on spousal. Which is just a continuation of the situation that has caused you to be dependent on his income in the first place.

id take more of the capital and apply for UC rather than rely on an ex.

Why do you need to be compensated for your own decisions? I mean if it was a shared decision you still have to own your part in this.

How will he know what your earnings are?

He earns what you do in a month in a day and a half?!?!

wow so you’ll be getting a very generous amount of CM per month

take him for all you can but try to get back on the career ladder

rely on yourself as much as possible

consider trying to go for pension or a bigger share of equity over spousal maintenance as this might encourage him to guard his pension and offer more equity and pay you extra each month for a few years whilst you get on your feet

Have u had advice about this split? I wouldn't want to be at his whims financially....
Sounds like you need a shit hot lawyer.....

maybe if you got back to nearer your 'par' salary then tape if you took all the earnings hit with children...

and equally why do you have to share your salary information after you're divorced? None of his business..... set yourself up as a company and only pay minimal wages! ...

Are you getting a share of his pension? Clean break with larger portion of assets would be my preference rather than spousal tbh

To what extent have you sacrificed your career? Career sacrifice to the extent that the compensation principle applies to spousal maintenance is incredibly rare and that is unsurprising because very few people ever make a career sacrifice in significant financial terms. I recall there was recently a case between two solicitors in the last few years where the wife tried to claim career sacrifice but it didn't really make much difference because 1) the court weren't prepared to assume she could have made partner or done as well as the husband if she hadn't taken a career break and 2) she was young enough to go back to work and progress, with the asset split and short term spousal maintenance making up for the sacrifice.

In reality, it's very rare for career sacrifice to mean much beyond the years not saving a pension which is compensated in the asset split. If you take a typical case of two professionals where one became a SAHP (rare in itself these days), the higher earner has normally hit a wall at about £70-90k and the weaker financial party can normally be expected to get back into their career and catch up within a decade with the asset split and short term maintenance normally being plenty to make up the difference.

The only cases that seem to attract spousal maintenance in the longer term are where there is a massive difference in income because the weaker financial party never had a career and the parties are older, or where there is a compelling reason that the weaker financial party can't work (e.g. health issues, disabled children). It's not so much "sacrificed a career" but "never had a career and has spent their whole lives dependent on other people for a living." Even then, you need to be older. My wife never had a career but was expected to find one and support herself, with no SM because of the asset split in her favour.