maintenance

Is it a legal requirement to provide maintenance for a wife in the Consent Order if the children of the marriage are under 18?

Rachel
Depends on sooooo many factors

As to a legal requirement, no I don't think it is.

Depends on:

Length of marriage
Earnings / other income of H and W
Earnings potential of H and W
Value of marital assets less libailities
Value of marital home, less outstanding mortgage
Any significant assets over £500
And debts, marital or personal
Any pension H and W
Number and age of children
Whether any parties have any special needs or disabilities

In general spousal maintenance depends on the needs of one party versus the ability to pay of the other.

In the 'average' household, by the time the assets are split and two new households are set up, there generally isn't a lot of spare money to pay spousal maintenance.

Hope it helps rather than confuses. Maybe if you post some more detail, you may get a better response.

Mike

Mike,

Thank you, specifically I want to know if it is a legal requirement to have a maintenance order for the wife in the consent order if:
there has been sufficient financial provision for the one and only child and the wife has a well paid job

Good advice above. SM depends on the overall circumstances of a particular case. As Mike said regard needs to be given to all the matters set out in s25 MCA 1973. These days SM isn't necessarily confined to maintenance or just meeting needs.