Child Support / Spousal maintenance payments when custody is shared

[BenjaminV]

Hi all,
currently going through the early stages of divorce. We are still negotiating how the schedule of how much time i will have the children, i am hoping for 50/50 split as i am closely involved in all aspects of the kids life from breakfast to bedtime, 7 days a week.
If i do get 50/50, what are the calculations used for child Support / spousal maintenance payments?
We have a family home that i think i will be in the best position to pay for and maintain ongoing as i am the better earner.
What is the likelihood of a dad staying in the family home? How can I improve my chances?

 

[Ash]

The more you can agree, the better but really any agreement should be in a Child arrangements consent order (not the same as a divorce consent order) and if the other person won't agree to it being in a consent order then you have to wonder what their plan/motivation is. Often an ex will hold you to hostage saying they will only agree Child Arrangements if you agree unreasonable finances. Which is why some cases end up with a court application for Child Arrangements, to get that sorted so it can't be used to manipulate financial agreements.

Common schedules for 50/50 are 2-2-5-5. You each have two consecutive midweek nights each week and you each have every other week-end from Friday to Monday morning school drop off. The 5 nights is the two midweek nights tacked onto the week-end, fortnightly.

You need to be careful with how that is written up in an order as sometimes even if it's equal nights, CMS can say the Mother still has the greater care time if the order only specifies from school with you and "with Mother at all other times" as they will count the school day time as her time as well. So careful order wording is needed. Otherwise there should be no CM to pay with 50/50 and you share the cost of everything by agreement - eg shared cost of school uniform, school trips etc.

As for who stays in the family home - tricky. Does your ex want to stay there and is there any agreement over whether the house will be sold so you can both afford another home? You need to look at being able to afford a home of your own long term too - especially if you want 50/50.

 

[Jumper85]

@BenjaminV - what makes you think you will be due to pay spousal maintenance?

 

[Roblox]

Spousal maintenance would need to be ordered by court and is usually for a finite period. E.g. a year or two.

It's quite old fashioned and not so popular these days. It also reduces benefits i think pound for pound, like universal credit, so often you can put forward an argument there's no benefit to it as ex is no better off and you would be worse off. We used that when my ex tried it on.

 

[Ash]

Thanks for raising that Jumper. I missed the spousal maintenance bit. CMS and spousal maintenance are different calculations. CMS is based on a percentage of your income and has to be paid by law. If the children live with the Mother more than half the time. If it's a full 50/50 neither party has to pay CMS. Spousal maintenance is something that becomes part of the divorce financials and is not always ordered. The one thing to avoid like the plague is "global maintenance" which is a figure that includes both spousal and child maintenance as part of the divorce. I'm not an expert on divorce finances but we had a Dad on here stuck in a global maintenance order for a very long time and they are hard to get out of. Sometimes child maintenance is also agreed as part of divorce finances at an agreed figure. That only lasts a year, and after that you can go via CSM and be assessed and it will be based on income.

After separation there is a tendency to a) feel guilty for a while and b) still feel like you are married and the provider. But you need to think ahead. Your stbx may meet someone else with a good income - or even get a well paid job - and you end up stuck with no place of your own and having to pay her a lot of money.

It needs to be fair - both parties need to be able to afford a place to live and you need to be able to afford to support yourself. Equity and assets should be 50/50 (unless agreed otherwise). Sometimes deals are done whereby the ex gets more assets in lieu of not claiming on your pension. Or vice versa if she has the bigger pension. Maintenance is different. Spousal maintenance isn't so common these days but would be based on her "needs". However if you lose your job or got sick and can't afford to pay it, that can be varied so she would be silly to rely on spousal maintenance.

How old are your kids?
Does your ex work?
If not is she qualified to work?

An ex will be expected to retrain and find work and help support herself, within a period of time.

 

[Ash]

Spousal maintenance would need to be ordered by court and is usually for a finite period. E.g. a year or two.

It's quite old fashioned and not so popular these days. It also reduces benefits i think pound for pound, like universal credit, so often you can put forward an argument there's no benefit to it as ex is no better off and you would be worse off. We used that when my ex tried it on.

Posted at the same time

 

[Jumper85]

Interesting points there Ash. Could an ex claim temporary financial support whilst looking or work or retraining? I ask as mine continues to persist with her own business which brings her in less than £12k per year despite working full-time. She's worked for herself for 3 years now. Clearly she could go and stack shelves at a supermarket for significantly more!

Does the child arrangements split factor into that too? So if it's 50/50 care, do they consider the mother has a lot more free time to work but less and therefore their earning potential is far less if they have them 70/30 lets say?

 

[Ash]

I'm not sure to be honest, but an argument for 50/50 is both parents will be able to work and share the care of the kids. If she's working now, even if on a low income, it shows she can work! So less of an argument for spousal than if she had been a stay at home Mum for years.

 

[BenjaminV]

@BenjaminV - what makes you think you will be due to pay spousal maintenance?

It is something my (soon to be ex) partner mentioned.

 

[BenjaminV]

Thanks for raising that Jumper. I missed the spousal maintenance bit. CMS and spousal maintenance are different calculations. CMS is based on a percentage of your income and has to be paid by law. If the children live with the Mother more than half the time. If it's a full 50/50 neither party has to pay CMS. Spousal maintenance is something that becomes part of the divorce financials and is not always ordered. The one thing to avoid like the plague is "global maintenance" which is a figure that includes both spousal and child maintenance as part of the divorce. I'm not an expert on divorce finances but we had a Dad on here stuck in a global maintenance order for a very long time and they are hard to get out of. Sometimes child maintenance is also agreed as part of divorce finances at an agreed figure. That only lasts a year, and after that you can go via CSM and be assessed and it will be based on income.

After separation there is a tendency to a) feel guilty for a while and b) still feel like you are married and the provider. But you need to think ahead. Your stbx may meet someone else with a good income - or even get a well paid job - and you end up stuck with no place of your own and having to pay her a lot of money.

It needs to be fair - both parties need to be able to afford a place to live and you need to be able to afford to support yourself. Equity and assets should be 50/50 (unless agreed otherwise). Sometimes deals are done whereby the ex gets more assets in lieu of not claiming on your pension. Or vice versa if she has the bigger pension. Maintenance is different. Spousal maintenance isn't so common these days but would be based on her "needs". However if you lose your job or got sick and can't afford to pay it, that can be varied so she would be silly to rely on spousal maintenance.

How old are your kids?
Does your ex work?
If not is she qualified to work?

An ex will be expected to retrain and find work and help support herself, within a period of time.

Not sure if these questions are for me, but my answers anyway

• How old are your kids?, primary school
• Does your ex work?, yes, part-time currently

Regarding CMS, i see that if care is shared 50/50, no CMS is due. (link)

If care is shared 50/50 and no CMS due, will any spousal support be expected if mother can work full time?

 

[Jumper85]

Hi @BenjaminV, spousal maintenance is very rare these days. I'm facing a spousal maintenance claim and have sought legal advice.

A few questions (if you're comfortable disclosing).
1. How long has your ex been part-time and what is there role?
2. Have they remained in the same career and reduced hours or changed jobs?
3. What is her earning potential if she did go back full-time in her current role or back to her original career (is she trained/skilled)?
4. What's the income difference between your income and the ex's currently?
5. Does she intend to claim benefits, child benefits, etc?

With answers to these I could probably give you a better indication on whether she is likely to be awarded spousal maintenance or not based on the advice I've had.

Jumper