Maintenance Payments

[lynneuk74]

My partner and his wife are going through a divorce. He is happy to support his children - even being prepared to pay more than the CSA expect him to.

The major problem is his wife. She has refused to go back to work since having her first child 19 years ago. He worries that, because of her reluctance to work, he will have to continue to support her financially indefinitely even once all the children are grown up. His youngest is 12.

Does anyone know what the law is regarding this? Does he have to pay maintenance for her just because she refuses to work or will she be expected to support herself by getting a job?

Guess it irritates us both that, after deciding she no longer wanted to be married, she could expect to have her ex-husband support her. He is prepared to pay for a house for them to live in - and accepts that she will still benefit from this even once the kids are adults - but wants to know if he'll have to make ongoing maintenance payments.

Any advice will be appreciated.

[kempie]

You may find this site informative - link.

[WendyS]

I don't know anything about divorce laws but I suspect that if your partner's ex wife refuses to work after the divorce her eventual state pension may be severely reduced. She will probably be entitled to a state pension based on her husband's Nat. Ins. contributions either up to the divorce date or the date on which her youngest achieves the age of 18. If she wants to augment increase this she will have to earn further entitlements on her own account. So perhaps the thought of this might encourage her to rebuild her skills and take responsibility for her own future financial wellbeing.

[lady_p_gold]

A lot depends on his income and outgoings, obviously he cannot pay a vast amount of maintenance if he is not earning enough. Unfortunately they may say that because she has not worked for so long she is unlikely to be able to command much of an income. It all depends on how the divorce goes and if it ends up going to Court, if you cannot decide between you then they will decide. I know of two cases where the husband is still paying maintenance long after the children are grown up, because the wife never worked, however they are both high earners.