[Solved] Financial implications of Divorce.

Hi David

Unfortunately Samantha is no longer with the Forum, but hopefully someone with more knowledge will be along shortly.

I would love to be able to answer your question, but this isn’t my area of expertise. I think though that your first step would be to attend mediation to try and sort things out.

It’s would be to everyone’s advantage to reach an amicable agreement, but sometimes that’s not possible, in that case it would be advisable to seek some proper legal advice.

As far as the house is concerned, it’s usual for the parent with care of the children to receive a larger share of the equity, if the property is to be sold.

If she is used to not working, she may expect spousal maintenance and of course, there will need to be a financial settlement in regards to the children.

There’s a good website called Wikivorce, where you may find more information too and the CAB can also provide information.

There’s also a good website called Advice Now that offers a lot of useful guides about all aspects of divorce too.

Best of luck

Hi David,

Unfortunately divorce finances can be very complex and so there is no universal or simple answer. There are two pieces of advice I would give though - firstly, if you can come to ann agreement with your ex, it could save you a lot, and it's worth maybe giving away a bit more than you normally would on the basis that if you don't agree, anything you may gain in a better settlement will easily be swallowed up in legal fees and it's better than money staying in the family rather than losing it. It will also be better for you children if you can agree amicably. The second bit of advice is to open a case with CMS and pay the agreed amount in child maintenance, rather than having child maintenance as part of the divorce settlement - the CMS can override any court order for child maintenance after 12 months, so you may as well go for that now, and a divorce court will normally find this an acceptable arrangement. Whatever you do, don't offer a lump sum in lieu of future child maintenance.

Morning, what an amazing forum!

I wondered if I could seek some advice.

My wife and I formally separated in Dec 18 and will be going through financial mediation in a few months.

We have a joint house which she lives in with our 5 year old twins.

I currently continue to put my entire salary (c2x here) into our joint account - am I legally obliged to do this or could I just pay CSA?

Thanks

David

Hi David

I don’t believe there is any legal obligation to continue with a joint account. You will have an obligation to the mortgage provider, as you probably know.

It might be a good idea to keep your wife in the loop about what you plan to do....I doubt she will be happy, but she will need to come to terms with the reality of your current situation.

Here’s a link to the CMS calculator

www.gov.uk/calculate-your-child-maintenance

I would definitely close that account - I'm not sure, but potentially your wife might be able to apply for borrowing on that account, which would be in both your names.