Spousal Maintenance-Help

Hi,
I really don't know where to start.
my husband and I have been seperated 6 months.
His net wages are approximately 2400 to 3000 per month.
He currently lives at his dads and only pays £200 per month housekeep.
until now he has been paying £500 for the kids (2 and 3 years old)
£132 (half of joint loan), and half mortgage (£430)
My direct debits are £1300 for essentials and debts that were joint, I pay about £500 per month childcare, I earn £1000 net per month, and receive £120 child benefit, and approximatly £1000 tax credits.
His solicitor has told him to sign the house over to me, which i have refused as the oustanding mortgage is £165000 and on my income, a) i could not afford it and b) no one would give me a mortgage. the house is only worth £190000, and is 3 bedroom, I will need to employ an au pair shortly as my new job involves mandatory shift patterns. His solicitor has told him he is not liable for the mortgage, and does not have to pay me any maintenance, only for the kids, and half of the joint loan. my solicitor will not deal with the financial side of divorce until we have been to mediation, and will not advise me until then. I have no pension, he has been contributing at 7% income for 10 years. i spent 3 years as a housewife and full time mum, at both of our agreement.
What am i reasonably entitled to??? I cant figure it out...

Hmmmm- not an easy one.

I do not think I could give you a direct answer to your question, but might possibly suggest some pointers. The first is that the Court's first priority is the welfare of the children and the need to keep a roof over their head. That often means the parent with care ( you ) get the right to remain there wile the children are still dependent. But you have a high mortgage and there is not a great deal of equity in the house. You say you can't afford it. His solicitor seems to want his client to get shut of it. It can happen that the ' usual ' solution of giving the parent with care the right to stay in the marital home may not always be appropriate for financial reasons, and in that case the solution may be for both of you to rent, which in your case would probably release funds to pay off debts and thus reduce your joint expenses.

Secondly, your x2b has to pay maintenance for the children in accordance with the CSA formula ; there is a calculator on the CSA website which will tell you how much he should be paying. There is no choice about that, so you have the factor this sum into the calculations.

After that - well, I think what you both have to do - you and your x2b - is to draw up a budget The first priority is to make sure that boith you and your x2b have enough to live on.

I think you need to make a joint decision as to whether you are going to keep the house or not. I am not saying that you should sell, because I'm not trying to run your life for you. All I am saying is that it is an option, which appears to have potential advantages for both of you.

I don't know what stage you are up to in the divorce and whether you have got as far as filing form E ; but at this stage you look at the budgets and see how much you need to live on. It isn't impossible by any means for your x2b to have to pay spousal maintenance on top of child support. But mediation is not a bad forum for the two of you to consider issues like this, and it does tend on the whole to be cheaper than going through the Courts. Your solicitor should at least be on hand to advise you on any points which surface during the mediation ; but I think, madam, that most posters on this site would agree that, properly done, it is the best way of resolving financial disputes if both parties are prepared to co-operate.

Mike 100468