maintance !

hi , can anyone tell me what to expect, my ex has rang to say hes in court tomorrow on spousel maintance , he was served papers a few weeks ago. i wasnt sure what happens on this court appearence? its all seems very above me and i never seem to know whats going on!!!

I can't quite figure what's going on here ! Are you an applicant for spousal maintenance ? You refer to your ' ex ' but it is normal for orders for ancillary relief to be granted between the Decree Nisi and the Decree Absolute. Or do you mean that he still your husband but may not be for much longer ?

What kind of hearing is it, madam ? A first appointment, a Financial Dispute Resolution hearing or a Final hearing ? Whichever it is, both the petitioner and the respondent need to be present.

Are you represented by solicitors ? If you are, I would expect that you would be told what the hearing is about and what you can expect.

I'm afraid I'm more than a little puzzled. If you can tell me a bit more I might be a little more intelligent.

Mike 100468

I agree with everything mike100468 has said. If there's an application being heard by the Court, you should be there, and your solicitor should have told you all about it. With a bit more info, I'm sure we can help you between us - there are plenty people on here who know the ropes well.

Best

Will C

hi, thanx for replying ! i was tryin to do the right thing and try and sort out the fininacal side of things between us and was giving him time to come terms with everything. he remains in the family home and my 3 kids and me are renting. but 4 yrs down the line he hasnt come forward with anything so my sol said to take him to court to give him a scare to start things off, as he pays maintance for the 3 kids but not for me. so he was served papers a few weeks agofor maintance payments and was given a court date. he rang me today to tell me he was in court tomorrow and didnt know what time to turn up, and was asking what i knew! which was nothing as i didnt know anything about it hence coming on here to see if i was suppose to know! i phoned my sol and they rang me back to inform me i am to be there tomorrow but if i hadnt rang i wouldnt have known about it , everythings so confusing i dont know if im going or coming ! i got no letter or any form of message other than the secetary telling me to court tomorrow will go anyway as i need this marrige over and the finincal side of things sorted. there is only the family home to be considered in this breakup. he dosent have the kids over to stay i have the full time but i need to know where i stand as renting is proving to expensive for me now my kids are getting bigger with more money going out now then when they were little. i seem to be asking the wrong questions and dont have a clue whats happening and i have no one that i know to talk to about divorce and what happens. i thinks for your replys and will let you know what happens
Rx

Well, I've seen it all now. A hearing to take place tomorrow and neither party has been informed by the solicitors when it is.

I would hazard a guess, madam, and it's really no more than that, that your appointment tomorrow is a First Hearing , which is not all that frightening ; the Court will review what evidence of your respective means it has, and will probably make orders requiring one or both of you to supply further information within a given time. But you have to be there. If you aren't, then the Court will make an order for costs against you and it will cause even more delay. If he doesn't appear there will probably be an order for costs against him. Not your problem that, but take it from me, you have to be there.

If I can get in my tuppence worth, if I were in your position, madam, I would want, at the very least, the right to stay in the marital home until your youngest reaches 18, child support and possibly spousal maintenance too, depending on your incomes. You should not, in my view, accept or tolerate further delay, from your husband or anything or anyone else.

Mike 100468

Well said, mike, and I will go further. Let's look at the facts. First your solicitors fail to advise you correctly, e.g. about your right to expect to live in the home and your ex can go out and rent, at least until the kids leave school. Then your solicitors fail to tell you about the hearing. They filed your application, they are on record, the paperwork comes to them from the court.

What the hell are they playing at?? I would be kicking their front door down demanding an explanation from the head of family department why they are behaving so amateurishly. They are just the people who give the legal profession a bad name. If they won't give you a proper standard of service you should be taking your case elsewhere.

Today's hearing is all about deciding what information is needed about the parties' respective means, so if there isn't a full affidavit of means both sides the Judge will order that to be done. But I think you should be asking some *very* searching questions of your solicitors. Good luck.

Will C