spousal and child maintenance

I need some guidance as I am without legal advice, thanks in advance.



I need to know if it usual if you come to a financial agreement between us and make it court approved [to avoid a final divorce hearing from judge], for me as main earner to provide
child maintenance at the Government approved level, ie it can increase and decrease with income changes, or can we strike a bespoke deal?


Also if I get a car allowance from a new job is this declareable or does it count as income?
Also if i change job [undeclared] after financial declaration but before divorce date and it is an agreed settlement [no final hearing], is this breaking the rules [actually I am sure I will start the new job before being divorced]?

My logic is it will be discovered if I am expected to pay child maintenance at a varible level as the new income will be detected on annual review anyway, and then enquiries might occur
to discover it.
Then I might end up in a worse position as I will have agreed a generous deal for my ex and may be sueable and might have further liabillity over the undeclared higher income.




I presume it is risky to not delcare it, even if it is between us and no judge is involved?

If i got this new job well after seperation but before final divorce, will it be regarded as my income at time of divorce and be taken into account?
My new job has fairly substanatially higher salary than my current job which has existed for most of the recent marriage [although thankfully much of that will be future bonus
which won't kick in yet, but I believe even that is liable for child maintenance].


My main question is, if there is no deal and it goes to a final hearing, is the judge likely to put the level of child maintenance as annual reviewable and as per govt website [CSA] levels
or more likely to set it at current payable level with annual inflation increases?



I am aware I may have to pay spousal maintenance as well although my outgoings are substantial and there is not a lot of money left over for this at all.

My wife refuses to work and has done since we had children about 10 years ago, even though she is professionally qualified in an in demand occupation, and there is no viable excuse not to work.

there are 2 children, 8 and 10.


thanks in advance.

The divorce and financial settlement are separate. The finances are settled based on respective needs and the means you have between you. You need to declare your current financial circumstances and any intended changes. All income is included.

Your stbx would be expected to maximise her income. You may be required to pay some spousal maintenance perhaps time limited while she undertakes training and looks for suitable work.

Child maintenance can be a family arrangement - a private agreement between you. It can be set at whatever rate you agree is appropriate. If necessary she has recourse to the CMS who will take over CM arrangements and require payment of minimum rates. Even if CM is enshrined in a court order, this can be changed to CMS after a year.

Hadenoughnow

I'd say what Hadenoughnow has stated is correct, but child maintenance is governed by statute and is fixed by reference to a formula ( as you know ) and if circumstances change it can be done through the CMS without the expense of going to Court.

I wouldn't expect CM to be included in a Court order as the liability is statutory, but the judge of course must take into account your liability for CM in deciding whether SM is payable and if so how much.

It is not uncommon for SM orders to be indexed, and strange though it may seem, I don't object to it in principle , because there is a
risk that, if the level remains constant, the maintenance may become inadequate and there is then the danger of a Court application, which can be expensive.

But one tip - don't index in line with the RPI, which is useless at a time of wage stagnation.

You mention your wife going out to work. As has been said, there is a duty on the recipient wife to take reasonable steps to maximise her income. People say that nowadays courts are more likely to expect a supported spouse to seek work, but I honestly don't know, and it may depend on what judge you get. As a personal view, I think it is reasonable to expect a wife to seek
part time work when the youngest starts secondary education ;
when her income can be augmented by tax credits.

Maybe other posters will be able to comment.

LMM