Understanding Spousal Maintenance After Divorce

Spousal Maintenance in the UK is financial support one spouse pays the other during and/or after a divorce and these payments are designed to meet the lower earner’s needs if they cannot be self-sufficient.

Payments are made monthly for a set term and end on remarriage or death and sometimes cohabitation. It is separate from child maintenance and is aimed to create fairness not equality during and after a divorce.

It is very rare that one party obtains maintenance for life.

There is no automatic right to spousal maintenance and each case depends on its own facts. The Court will look at the income and outgoings of both parties when deciding what award to make.

Sometimes it is possible to capitalise spousal maintenance which means that within a Clean Break Consent Order one party can pay the other party a lump sum effectively in lieu of ongoing spousal maintenance. This would provide a complete clean break.

As this is quite a complex area so it is always recommended that a party going through divorce seek expert advice from an experienced family solicitor.

The Court can make changes to any Orders for spousal maintenance if, for example, one party loses their job or becomes ill or indeed if one party gets a big salary increase.

The Court will generally look at the income and earning capacity of each party and their reasonable needs and standard of living the parties enjoyed during marriage plus whether any of parties have any disabilities or responsibilities for children although child maintenance is a separate issue.

The aim of spousal maintenance is to provide support for a transitional period allowing the recipient to achieve financial independence usually through re-training or re-entering the work force. Spousal maintenance is not a meal ticket for life anymore.

There is not set formula for calculating spousal maintenance.

Divorcing couples are always encouraged to agree matters through mediation. However, if matters cannot be agreed then a Court application will have to be made and the Court has jurisdiction to deal with spousal maintenance once there is a divorce in place with the Court or an application for the dissolution of a civil partnership or an application for a Decree of Judicial Separation.

Nominal Spousal Maintenance Orders are very rare nowadays. This is where an Order is made for a nominal amount of £1 per to be made. The purpose of this sort of Order is to keep open a future claim.

Lifetime Spousal Maintenance Orders are very unusual nowadays and a fixed term spousal maintenance may be appropriate in some situations. Consideration on a fixed term Spousal Maintenance Order will need to be given to how much is paid each month and for how long.

The aim of the Court is to achieve fairness. There is an expectation by the Court that any recipient will make all reasonable efforts to maximise their own income position whether that be by increasing working hours or undertaking re-training to improve their earning capacity.

Nowadays there is an expectation that a mother with school age children to be working hours that fit in with childcare. We offer a fixed fee appointment of £350.00 plus VAT for an hour’s discussion and consideration by an experienced lawyer if this is something you need help with.