Spousal maintenance is generally the most fought-over part of a divorce settlement. In this case, you would be wise to have a strong legal presence on your side. Should one spouse pay the other spousal maintenance? And if this is the case, how much maintenance should be paid every month? Should the maintenance end after a few years, or should it continue for life? How much money does one spouse earn and how much are the maintenance needs of the other spouse (often, but not necessarily, the wife)?
Spousal maintenance is regular financial support paid by one spouse to the other after separation or divorce to help meet their income needs. It is entirely separate from child maintenance, which is money paid for the benefit of the children. A couple may have a spousal maintenance arrangement, a child maintenance arrangement, or both.
No. There is no automatic right to spousal maintenance in England and Wales. Whether it should be paid at all depends on whether one spouse has a genuine need for financial support and whether the other has the ability to pay. If both spouses can meet their own needs from their own income, no maintenance will usually be ordered.
Unlike child maintenance, there is no set formula. The court looks at the reasonable income needs of the spouse asking for maintenance, weighed against the paying spouse’s income and their own outgoings. Factors such as the length of the marriage, the standard of living during it, each party’s earning capacity and any caring responsibilities all feed into the assessment.
It varies widely. Maintenance can be ordered for a fixed term, for example while the receiving spouse retrains or the children are young, or on a “joint lives” basis, meaning it continues until either party dies, the recipient remarries, or a further court order is made. Long marriages where one spouse has been out of the workplace for many years, particularly later in life, are the type of case where joint lives orders are more likely.
It is a spousal maintenance order that has no fixed end date and continues throughout the parties’ joint lifetimes, subject to certain triggering events such as the recipient’s remarriage. They are less common than they used to be, but remain appropriate in cases such as long marriages where one spouse gave up their career to raise children and cannot realistically become financially self sufficient.
Yes. You do not have to wait until the final settlement. You can apply to the court for an order for interim maintenance to cover your day to day needs while the divorce and financial proceedings are ongoing. In some cases the order can also include an element towards your legal fees, so that you are not prevented from getting proper advice simply because your spouse controls the money.
Yes. Spousal maintenance orders are not set in stone. Either party can apply to vary the order if there has been a genuine change in circumstances, for example the paying spouse losing their job, retiring or having a significant drop in income, or the receiving spouse starting work, receiving an inheritance or cohabiting with a new partner. The court can increase, reduce, extend or bring the payments to an end.
Remarriage automatically brings spousal maintenance to an end. Cohabiting with a new partner does not automatically end it, but it is often a strong reason for the paying spouse to apply to reduce or terminate the order, on the basis that the new partner is now sharing outgoings and contributing to the household.
No. Many are settled by agreement between the spouses, through direct or solicitor-led negotiation. Even where court proceedings are issued, most cases settle before a final hearing, often at the Financial Dispute Resolution appointment, where a judge gives an early indication of the likely outcome to help the parties reach a deal. Court remains available, and sometimes necessary, but it is usually a last resort.
We have many years’ experience advising on maintenance claims. We are able to negotiate settlement agreements out of Court, or else pursue or respond to claims in Court. We can also make applications for interim maintenance (including an element of legal fees) or applications to vary existing maintenance orders if circumstances change, for example, the payer loses his/her employment.
M and P were married for 30 years. They have two children aged 26 and 30. M never worked. She raised the two children and followed her husband around the world. M asked P for a joint lives maintenance order. P, however, was of the opinion that M should get a job to fund herself.
We tried to negotiate with P and his solicitors. When negotiations failed, we issued financial remedy proceedings. The matter was settled outside Court at the second hearing, the so-called Financial Dispute Resolution hearing. M now has a joint lives maintenance order which means that P must pay her a monthly sum to cover her needs. She is not required to work since she is now in her 60s.
Die Anwaltskanzlei Beyer Family Law Solicitors ist ausschließlich im Bereich des internationalen Scheidungs- und Familienrechts tätig.
Kerstin Beyer – Beyer Family Law Solicitors – Solicitor (England und Wales), Rechtsanwältin (Deutschland, nicht praktizierend), Summit House, 12 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4QH. Zugelassen und beaufsichtigt durch die Solicitors Regulation Authority.
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