Quick divorce questions please!!! Consent order???

[lunavix]

Was being represented by a solicitor for divorce who decided he had finished off his own accord!
We already have a nisi, and I agreed to a consent order with ex issuing it.
I have no quibbles about wanting anymore money from him, having interest in property etc.
However... I noticed the bit about x person paying y person money, and they have written in 5p per annum.
I assumed this was spousal maintenance, but decided not to sign and to check it out just in case, as the form did mention agreements to do with children and from my tiny bit of online research it seems this refers to child maintenance too. Is that so???
We did a form nearer the start of the divorce (which he filled out incorrectly) talking about access to kids and maintenance (which he then decided to lower two days after signing that form) but he's very sneaky and as him and his solicitor are pressuring me to sign I can only assume this is why.
If it is, surely maintenance changes every now and then, so wouldn't even if he wrote in what he paid now he refuse to up it in the future?

Thanks....

If this amount is supposed to cover child maintenance it should be clear in the consent order. If it is for child maintenance the amount is fixed until 12 months after the date of the order. After that you can call in the CSA.

Hi

Get someone to look at the order. If it's spousal maintenance there may be an additional clause preventing you from seeking an uplift etc. if in doubt don't sign without your own advice.

Best regards

Harjit Sarang

In my experience, this isn't child maintenance, it's spousal maintenance.

If the financial position of the one named as the recipient of the 5p pa changes (gets worse) it allows them to try and claim spousal maintenance from their ex.

I think it's very underhand to sneak this clause in and hope you don't notice. If you agree a clean break then that's what you should get. If I were you I would tell your ex'es solicitor that you aren't signing until that clause is removed and that you want a clean break with no recourse to maintenance on either side.

This doesn't affect the amount paid for your child/children, as the poster above says, after one year of the child maintenance in the consent order you can then go to the CSA and have it reviewed.

Also, run it past a family law solicitor if you can. You don't have to engage them, just get the free half hour's advice specifically on the content of the consent order and you'll be in a better position to reply to your ex'es solc.

HTH.

It is a false economy not to have independent legal advice and a solicitor to check the terms of a consent order on your behalf.

Child maintenance is now usually phrased as £xx to be paid to the parent for the benefit of the child until the child reaches 18 or ceases full time tertiary education.

Spouse maintenance is phrased as a periodical payment from one spouse to the other. If there is a clean break the courts cannot award SM anytime in the future, but when there is an order for a nominal amount it can be varied in the future.

Where there are children courts often insist on SM for a nominal amount as insurance that they do not suffer undue hardship should the parent's income drop due to a new relationship breaking down, changes in tax credits/benefits, redundancy, becoming disabled etc.