The situation of both couples can be significantly altered due to divorce. Spousal maintenance is important when one spouse is financially dependent on the other, as it may help him adapt to his/her life after separation. It is fair because it promotes balance in living standards, particularly when one of the partners has a much lower income or limited earning power.
Spousal maintenance involves the constant payments made by one ex-spouse to the other following divorce or separation. It serves as a financing role when a partner is unable to maintain a reasonable standard of living without the other partner’s help.
This kind of maintenance is not related to child maintenance, which specifically addresses the needs of children. The concept of spousal maintenance centres on the socioeconomic needs of the former partner and helps ensure that one can afford to lead a comfortable and respectable life after the relationship ends.
Depending on the factors, the court can impose various forms of maintenance:
Interim maintenance: Provisional support that the court gives out in the course of a divorce.
Fixed-term maintenance: This involves payments made to the other spouse over a specific period, enabling the spouse to become financially independent.
Joint life maintenance: This type of payment is paid indefinitely, but it usually stops when a spouse is still living or remarried.
The court will always tend to promote the idea of financial independence whenever it can, with the exception that, in rare instances, long-term maintenance stands a chance of being awarded.
Maintenance does not have a mathematically determined formula. On the contrary, the court evaluates the needs and financial ability of each party. The size and the period of payments are based on the levels of income, spending in the household, and the possibility of future wages.
In case of any financial decision, maintenance orders can be reviewed, increased, or decreased, or even eliminated with the approval of the court in cases where there is a difference in the financial status of either party.
The process of negotiating spousal maintenance may be complicated and even emotional. Even an experienced family law solicitor will be able to do it to realize the rights of each side, calculate payments in the form of fair manner, and come to an agreement which will embody the financial reality of both sides.
Agreement on maintenance terms, although deliberated by you and your spouse, is important and must be materialized by means of a Court Order to be deemed binding.
We realize that post-divorce financial matters can be complicated and sensitive at First Law Solicitors. The pros on our side offer straightforward yet sympathetic counseling on what you should get out of this deal: be it spousal maintenance or an instance where you are being requested to pay.
We present negotiations and court applications professionally and carefully, and we are always striving for an agreement that will provide long-term stability and peace of mind.
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