Financial Advice

Hi,

I've posted before but have recently had mediation and am looking for guidance before my next meeting in a fortnight.

Ages
36 and 43
Marriage
Married 7 years but cohabiting for 10 years total
Children
16 month old son, full time with me but will spend one night per fortnight with ex
Work
Him full time employed, me recently made redundant
Income
His salary £80,000 plus guaranteed £15,000 bonus
My salary zero currently, was £40,000 full time but would prefer part time due to childcare costs and lack of support from ex who has moved 2 hours away
My outgoings
£2300 according to budget sheet provided by solicitor including current house bills, child costs, car and debt payments
His outgoings
Unknown but has confirmed he is buying a house with his mistress so estimate his outgoings as half of mine according to mediator so approx. £1150
Assets
marital home valued at £420,000, outstanding mortgage of £290,000
Pensions equal value of £35,000
My car £8,000
Debts
£6,000 credit cards
His car £14,000 on HP agreement


My Proposal
Stay in house till son is 18, Mesher Order
Spousal maintenance of £1500 until son goes to school so 4 years
child maintenance of £712 as per CMS
Asset split of 80/20
No pension sharing order

These were figures given by the calculator which seemed reasonable to me but mediator said she didn't know how it would work so now I wonder what I am likely to get and would be best to accept?

How big is the FMH?
Your strict need is for a 2 bed property. How much would that cost to buy where you are?

I think.It is very unlikely that you would get an 80:20 split with a Mesher order of that duration.

Pension sharing is not relevant.

Did you get s redundancy payout? How easy it is to find part time work in your field?

Hadenoughnow

It's a 3 bed semi, 2 beds in our area are £260k, no redundancy payout, few part time jobs that I can find.
I was hoping to stay for 4 years max to be honest and then sell or take over mortgage when I go full time but thought a Mesher order had to be 17 years? Could I get a shorter one?

You can get a shorter Mesher order, but why would you want one? You can instead add a 'buyout' clause to the usual Mesher order (i.e. house is not to be sold at any time before your son is 18 or leaves education, but you have an option to buy your ex out at any point before subject to conditions such as predefined equity split etc).
I have two children aged 1 and 2, and the mediator explained to me that there is very little chance for the spousal maintenance to be awarded, as I was in paid employment on a good salary before leaving it to stay at home after the first was born. Spousal maintenance is for the cases where one partner gave decades of career to look after the children, not a year or two which is comparable to the statutory maternity leave.

I don't think 80/20 is remotely achievable. In my case the mediator (who is also a practicing barrister) did not think there are enough grounds to depart from the 50/50 split, I can give you the particulars of my case if you want to compare, but on the surface it seems that you are in a 'better' position than I am. Apologies for the word 'better', could not think of anything more appropriate

The mesher can be any duration. It can also have an early buyout clause. The usual triggers are youngest reaching 18/21, remarriage, sale of property.

He is clearly in a position to recover financially and has his housing sorted. What is he using as deposit?

Whose name are the credit cards in?

My view would be that it is best not to restrict yourself to a short mesher but do include an early sale/buyout clause. Go for the usual triggers but with the clear intention (in your head) of ending it early.

I think the split is going to have to be a max 70:30 but could end up more even. This can be a negotiating point. The house would be transferred into your sole name. He would have a charge registered against it.

SM seems not unreasonable in the short term. Bear in mind that you may not be able to get back in to the same line of work at the same earnings level.You may want to work part time to keep your skills up or consider working for yourself from home. Some earnings would allow you to claim tax credits. Think of sm as paying for your child to be housed and cared for.

Hadenoughnow

Thank you both for your replies. It's so confusing!
He is buying a house in joint names with the mistress and she is putting down the deposit. Their new house is £370k with a £40k deposit down. Monthly repayments are £1500 which the mediator split to £750 which he can comfortably afford.

I don't think he will go for a Mesher order as he wants the house sold so that he can claim back the stamp duty he is paying as the new house is classed as a second residence. How likely is it that I would be granted a Mesher order rather than him forcing a sale? If we agreed a pre defined split of say 70/30 would it be on current values or value at time of sale?

£290k is a big mortgage.

Factor into your figures what would happen if/when interest rates go back up as you are not going to be able to remortgage to a different deal easily.