Varying a maintenance order due to loss of income?

[Questionformybrother]

Quick one - new name to protect identities tho likely being overly cautious.

Does anyone have experience of getting a maintenance order varied due to a drop income?

My brother pays his ex wife 2k a month even though they do 50/50. Complex court order due to judge wanting to give her time to reestablish her career after a childcare break, which she has done actually quite quickly.

He's recently lost 2k in monthly allowance from our parents, who have had to close the family business. (It was rental property, so bad times.)

The exw now has more income than he does. He earns 5k from his job but pays 2k mortgage to live v near the station into London for work. 1k to nanny, 2k left but 0 if he keeps paying exw. He is running down the savings he put aside for his kids' university and house deposits, where are about £60k he says.

Exw has about 2k post tax from job - graded civil service position so he can tell - no mortgage because can live in small hamlet due to no London commute, no childcare costs because her family all help.

Maintenance ordered for 5 years, 3 left. Do we think he could get it varied and if so would that be very costly? Exw probably likely to contest.

Not sure why this is on the step-parenting forum as step-parents don't pay maintenance for their step-child(ren).

Ask for this to be moved to legal or separating/divorcing as it is a legal issue or a separating/divorcing issue.

And the answer is from the people who I know get their maintenance through Court Order is I don't know. However given the judge was giving the mother time to re-establish her career he should go back to Court anyway.

BTW the kids need to eat and be clothed now otherwise they won't be healthy enough to go to university. So running down the savings for them to give to their mother is fair.

He is a high earner

tell him to consult his solicitor

not get a friend / girlfriend to post on an anonymous chat forum for parents

The children need to be fed and housed prior to university. He doesn’t have enough to save for them. It’s a nice idea that he can give them a lump sum when they are adults but they need things to be paid for when they are children.

Its his choice where he lives, and pays for a nanny and all the other things.

I'm sure he is competant enough to consult a solicitor about a variation and not randoms on MN

eg: yeah, its hugely expensive and not worth trying to change it as it will cost so much time and money - I know I had to go through this with my ex

or equally likely: yeah, its almost free to do, I represented myself, and now I only pay 25p a month - I know I had to go through this with my ex

I'd say this is your partner OP, hence the Step parenting subject. So your partner pays 2k mortgage. 1k nanny and 2k maintenance to his EW.

Definitely brother! I’m single. It’s a family issue because it concerns the family business - or lack of, now - and basically whether capital from the business will be treated as income by a court now the income has gone.

But I do seem to have come to the wrong place. Apologies. I was thinking laterally in terms of that because step partners are with single parents or are single parents themselves perhaps they had lived experience of maintenance orders being varied?

Let’s close this down pls and I will seek out the legal forum as suggested.

but not suggest to him that he obtains bona fide legal advice in RL? very odd

If this is child maintenance, he can simply refer the matter to the CMS. Their calculation will replace the court order.

Also as its 50/50 custody he would be unlikely to have to pay any maintenance

Yes maintenance orders can be varied, but the initial order is meant to be final and so it’s not something that could be done on the papers (unless both parties agreed).

Yes it will be expensive if both sides have lawyers and contested. Judge will not just go “oh, you’ve lost a source of income so you don’t have to pay anymore” in a quick hearing on the paper.

I am sure EXW will say the properties have been sold to circumvent this order (and he will get the capital back when order is changed). There are also likely to be arguments about initial division of assets (courts may have given her more if maintenance not an optipn) and so should there be some sort of variation of this part if the maintenance is altered.

He needs to speak to a solicitor who can look at the initial order and background. They will be able to very quickly advise if worth going for a variation (or possibly trying to agree a variation with ExW.

To be completely clear...

If this is purely child maintenance, OP can refer it to the CMS and their calculation will replace the court order. There is no need to go to court and his ex will not be able to contest the change.

If it is spousal maintenance or global maintenance, that is another matter. In that case, OP's brother should consult a solicitor.