Can you claim spouse maintenance from your husband these days?

[kariah]

Hi, I wondered if anyone can help please - I have separated from my husband and left the marital home because I was unable to stay there for various reasons to do with himself. I am now in a little rented flat whereas he is in a owned-detached house which I paid EVERYTHING for (I even had my own house before meeting him, went joint on this house, then discovered he had £50k debt hidden from me). Please could anyone tell me if maintenance should be paid to myself, and if so, can this be done BEFORE the divorce, as this is clearly unfair. Many thanks in advance for your help!

[peaweesnana]

Not really, if you are capable of working. However you will be entitled to half the equity of the property (if your name is on the mortgage deed) and half the value of any pensions your husband has. This also applies to him though if you have any pension policies. They all come under matrimonial assets. If the debts are only in his name then he is responsible for them. You need to get your solicitor to draw up a financial agreement but make sure this is done and agreed to before the Decree Absolute is pronounced.

[MartinBev58]

Hi Kariah / Peaweesnana

A similar situation happened in our family. As it happens it was a late in life marriage. The marriage only lasted about 2 years and the husband owned a house worth about £400,000 at the time but as he was widowed his first wife's half share had been transferred to his son.
When the divorce happened her solicitor demanded £200,000 being half the value of the house plus half of the husbands pension and half of his savings.
She claimed she was not notified half of the house belonged to the son before the marriage.
In that case the wife only got £10,000 as the judge said this would put her back into the same position as if the marriage had not happened.
In your case you should get your share of the house whatever it is and a portion of what you paid for the maintenance etc.
The problem I can see here is have you got receipts for what you paid?. He may deny you paid some of the expenses.
As I assume there are no children involved you will not be entitlrd to maintenance.

Martin

[tonywiltshire]

If there are no children involved and you are able to work you will be expected to do so. It is unusual for you to have moved out of the matrimonial home it is usually the husband who moves out, if there has been any threat of physical violence to you a judge can order you too be allowed back and your husband can be ordered out, this is known as an ouster or exclusion order. If you have signed a tenancy agreement on your “little rented flat” you are liable to pay the rent for the fixed period. As you are joint owner of the property you will probably want it sold and if you are not happy with a 50/50 split as you feel you provided most of the equity try to agree with your husband what the split will be. I would strongly advise you to find a competent solicitor to look after your interest and ask him if he thinks a Calderbank letter is appropriate.

[jedimistress]

Yes you can claim spousal maintenance as part of the divroce settlement. If you have begun the divorce proceedings, it's possible you can apply for an interim maintenance order but I imagine you would have had to have filed for divorce first, rather than simply being separated. In the meantime I imagine you can claim for working tax credits and other benefits, such as housing, which may be payable now that you are not living with a partner. The divorce is finally granted when all finances are sorted out. This can take a long time from start to finish, so there are provisions for spousal maintenance if it is deemed necesary. Please try http://www.wikivorce.com which was invaluable for me when dealing with divorce.

[tonywiltshire]

Sorry but I think you will find the rule of common law for a husband to maintain his wife was abolished by section 198 of the equality act 2010 as there were other provisions in place. Go to a competent solicitor.