Ex lost job while we were finalising divorce financial settlement

[lunare]

Hi all,
I’d really appreciate some advice from anyone who’s been through something similar.

I’ve been going back and forth with my ex on financial settlement for a while. After multiple counter proposals, I finally sent what I consider to be my final without prejudice proposal.

On the same day, he emailed to say he has now lost his job.
We are quite close to agreement overall, but maintenance is still being negotiated.

I’m now unsure what to do next.
👉 Do I:

• pause things and wait until he secures a new job?
• continue negotiating based on his current position & current Form E disclosure?
• or move forward regardless?

I don’t want to rush into something that doesn’t work long-term, but equally I don’t want things to drag on indefinitely ( 18 months back and fourth )

Has anyone been in a similar situation where the other party’s circumstances changed right at the point of a near WP proposal agreement?

Would really appreciate any thoughts.

Difficult to advise as we don’t know the background or history or your current situation

it’s possible he could be out of work months if not longer which could weaken your case and strengthen his.

what maintenance are you negotiating? If it’s spousal then him being out of work will defo impact that

Lawyer here.

If the matter were to be determined by the court, it would take into account the parties' earnings, or their earning capacity if they are not currently working. It is not uncommon for a party to lose their job during financial proceedings, sometimes by design rather than bad luck. Obviously, the circumstances are important e.g. his age and the type of employment he has had in the past. In any event, the court will not pause proceedings whilst a party looks for another job.

Of course you might be attempting to settle your affairs without involving the court (other than approving any settlement you make between you). If you are negotiating without legal representation, I suggest putting forward your without prejudice offer and see how he reacts.

What type of maintenance are you negotiating.

Child maintenance is generally based on his salary. You shouldn’t really rely on CMS as an income stream as it could vary if he loses his job or if there is a change to CAO.

Anyway for the purposes of a clean break agreement, if he is unable to achieve his current income then that materially changes the basis of the asset split. You can argue that even if he has lost this job he will get another comparable one. He could equally argue that he can’t achieve that level of income for other reasons, e.g. health, changes to the job market etc.

Job market is very challenging right now!

Thanks, that’s really helpful and reassuring to hear re earning capacity and not needing to pause.

For context, we’re already agreed in principle on the main structure (house transfer + equity split), so it’s really just maintenance that’s outstanding.
He was earning ~£150k + previously (GM level within tech) and now has a termination package - figures yet to be provided, but no new role yet.

I’m trying to work out whether I’m better off:

• agreeing a slightly reduced figure now (with some form of review), or
• holding my position and pushing forward on that basis

There is also a bit of complexity around a property held via a company in his name (however has since moved into his mothers name ), which I’m still trying to get clarity on, so I’m conscious I may not have the full financial picture yet.

From a legal perspective, would the usual approach be to:

👉 finalise now with a flexible/temporary maintenance structure
rather than wait for his employment to stabilise?

Has he provided any proof of losing his job? Or the reasons why? My ex pretended to lose his job but he continued to work there, paid as self employed but in exactly the same role. If your ex did something that resulted in gross dismissal, I don't see why this should be used to his advantage in a divorce.

There is not guarantee that he’ll be able to earn that again and it may take a year or more to find something. I know many high earners in tech being laid off now and really struggling.

what’s your situation re work and earnings ? Are you hoping for spousal maintenance?

Thanks both, that’s helpful.
Just to add a bit more context the maintenance I’m referring to is a global periodic payments (not just CMS) and is what makes the housing situation workable. I’ll be taking on the mortgage on the family home in my sole name, so the monthly payments are a key factor, otherwise I don't earn enough to take on the mortgage, so lender is factoring in the global periodic payments.
We have two young children who are with me around 70% of the time, and one of them has additional needs (autistic, on DLA, with support at school), so stability and staying in the same home is really important

Honestly - I would think very hard about this! Relying on spousal maintenance ( which is a portion of global ) is very risky as you’re already seeing. He may not get another job at the same level of earnings, or it can be varied if his circumstances materially change. It would be unwise of you imo to need to rely on that for your housing

what’s the split of equity /assets ?

OP, please get some legal advice on this. I suspect that you will lose out financially if you reach a legal agreement with this man without everything being carefully checked over by a lawyer and having someone in your corner to negotiate on your behalf. The fact that property which was once in his name is now in his mother's name is a red flag, particularly when he has suddenly lost his well paid job (although I do accept that the job market is unstable at the moment).

Global periodical payments can be capitalised, so that you get a lump sum now, rather than rely on monthly payments which may not materialise.

Just a word of warning. The majority of people who respond to posts such as yours have no real understanding about how family financial disputes are dealt with by the courts. Some might have their own agendas. Whilst it is true that legal assistance is expensive, I suspect that it would be a false economy to do without such assistance in the circumstances you have set out.

Good luck.

What agendas do you think people have on here?

I can't recall saying that anyone on THIS thread had an agenda. Please read my post again.