Usual question I guess: what is fair?

With nearly £500k to play with you need a solicitors advice but regardless if something "stinks". You've been together 20 years so it's a long relationship. It starts at 50/50 and then factors come into play.

As per earlier, housing you both, income now, income in retirement are the priorities, due to her age and earning capacity her needs are housing and retirement income, yours are primarily housing and current income and you still have capacity to continue saving into a pension for some years(and by virtue of your current lifestyle you show that it is relatively easy for you to do that).

That's why I err on her potentially getting more to generate a pension income assuming all housing needs can be met

Yup. Thanks.
I know you're looking at it dispassionately and from what is likely to happen. I understand that.

All I'm getting at from my POV is that what I may or may not earn in the future shouldn't come into it. What if I find myself out of enough for 5 years as I did before? Is that taken into account? Nope. So all unemployment risk is mine.

Also by paying the other half more on anything other than 50/50 , in effect you ARE paying maintenance.im still seen as being financially responsible to some degree for her even though she isn't a dependent.

So even though I've split with a Clean Break, no kids, im still having to work more to make up my shortfall (plus all the lost growth on 10-20 years), pay more out in interest on a mortgage (would that be taken into account? She's staying in the home interest free, I'm having to pay another £50k out in interest if I take a 10 year mortgage on 100k) all through virtue of the fact that for 20 years she's spent every penny and never got off her backside long enough it been disciplined enough to put any more bey aside for the future. The potential was there and it was turned down on numerous occasions. That's why it stinks.

I know the solution is sell the house but morally I don't think that's right and the court would probably let her stay there anyway. I'm not turfing her out onto the street!


Anyway. No need to respond further: what I'm writing will not be seen as relevant.

Thanks for the advice, it is appreciated and given food for thought