Maintenance

I

I wonder if someone can give me some guidance on what I am likely to have to pay. I have 2 kids one 17 and the other 15. The 17 year old is going to university later this year and my daughter will probably going in 2 years time. Is there a general reckoner as to how much maintenance I need to pay before and after they go there and presumably it finishes when they have completed full time education?

Also my wife seems to think that I have to continue to provide her and the kids with exactly the same quality of life, financially anyway, as when I was living with them even if it means I cannot afford to eat even though she has a cleaner! I have suggested that any reasonable shortfall of our income is covered by the proceeds of the sale of the house when it is done hopefully sometime next year but she believes that I have no right to do this!

Any help wold be gratefully received

Colin

The standard of living during the marriage is one factor taken into account but too many people think that means there will be no change to their quality of life when clearly it is impossible to run two homes on the same budget. After a long marriage the aim is to leave both parties standard of living on the same par.

There is a calculator on the CM options website to calculate child support according to CSA rules. Under the current CSA rules children under the age of 19 in full time non advanced education (A Level standard or less) are eligible for child support. Alternatively you can negotiate a private agreement or include a child maintenance agreement in a Consent Order as part of the overall divorce settlement.