Financial Arrangements

My wife and I, after 20 years of marriage, have decided to seperate. We have 3 children aged 19, 16 and 11.

I want to do what is right financially (and emotionally) and to that end I''ll move out (when the time is right) my wife will continue to live with the children in our jointly owned, mortgaged property. I''ll pay maintenance for the children, cover the majority of household bills and until recently I was looking to pay the whole monthly mortgage. The reality has finally hit home i.e. by doing this I''ll not be able to afford to rent anywhere myself. I could stay with my parents but wouldn''t expect to live with them free of charge (even though I know they would not ask/insist).

As the mortgage is in joint names I know my wife may be expected to pay half but financially she could not afford to do so. Selling does not appear to be an option as this would disrupt my youngest and I doubt my wifes half of the equity would stretch to a big enough property (even if I paid a reduced mortgage on it).

As long as I am clear to my wife, I would like to see if I could pay the whole mortgage subject to a review in 12 months. Has anybody heard of or experienced such an arrangement?

Things are pretty amicable at present but I know from reading other posts they don''t always remain that way.

You need to post more details on incomes and assets.

If you ex can''t afford the mortgage then the sale of the house may be inevitable. The general rule is you need to be able to pay the bills and mortgage yourself to be able to stay there.

If mortgage is in joint names you are both liable for the full amount.

Many thanks for the feedback.

Even without me providing the asset/income details I''m sure that my wife would struggle to afford the bills let alone half the mortgage repayment on a monthly basis.

I really want to try and keep them all settled but at the same time I do not want to set unrealistic expectations.

Certainly don''t want to force a sale but appreciate a sale may end up being the only option.

Have you considered what benefits your wife would be entitled to after you have separated?

i.e. child tax credits, jobseekers allowance? (assuming she doesn''t work, if she does then working tax credits)

She will also have child maintenance for the youngest two from yourself.

She is currently looking into which benefits she would be entitled to. Working tax credits is certainly something she should receive as I believe she earns about £300 per month.

On the child maintenance front she would get about £800+ per month from me. I assumed this would be used to cover food/clothes/basics. There wouldn''t be a great deal if anything left to cover her half of the mortgage.

Appreciate the suggestions, I''ll try to ensure she fully explores what is available to her.

She will need to work at least 16 hours per week to get working tax credits - if she only brings home £300 per month then she may be under this?

However, a quick benefits check using entitledto.co.uk shows that, with two dependent children, if she does work 16 hours with £300 take home she will be entitled to:

Tax credits : £193 per week
Child benefit : £34 per week

Total £227 per week, £976 per month.

Plus wages of £300 plus child maintenance £800 makes a total of £2076 per month.

Would she be able to pay mortgage/bills on this amount? If so she would be able to afford to stay.

My apologies for not responding sooner but I would like to thank you for the advice and effort you have gone to on my part. It is very much appreciated.

Currently my wife works 14 hours a week but will look to increase this. I think it should be possible to exceed 16. That being the case on the figures you have managed to generate, she should be able to afford at least half the mortgage payment and some of the bills.

I''ll suggest we both sit down and work through the entitledto website but it''s certainly given me fresh hope.

Once again, thank you for all you help and advice.