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Divorce Maintenance Order Advice

Hi,

I have recently been through a very messy divorce and I allowed my ex husband to have all the money built up during our marriage. He hid away/cashed in the assets and did not show up to court. It was causing me a lot of stress so in court I asked the judge to put the house in my name and I'd just walk away from everything. I ended up with an order where the house would be put into my sole name ...but with a huge mortgage and little equity ... far less than I have put in over the years. The judge put a clause in the order that my ex husband should pay me £1 a year maintenance. My ex husband works abroad and does not contribute towards our son financially at all but he has come back to the UK to dispute the £1 a year that he is ordered to pay me maintenance. Do I give in on this or is it a worth while clause keeping it in? I would appreciate any comments/advice. Thank you X

Comments

  • marksoton
    marksoton Posts: 17,516 Forumite
    The £1 you refer to is spousal maintenance, not sure how that works within your agreement or the ramifications for leaving it/removing it but sure others will.

    If your ex works abroad then it is possible you may be able to apply to REMO which will enforce payments for your child that are made in a British court.

    Which country does he work in and where is his pay derived from ( e.g is it an British based company ) ?

    The fact that he want's to contest this clause suggests it is in his interests to have it removed !!
  • LizzieS_2
    LizzieS_2 Posts: 2,948 Forumite
    Agree with Mark, it is Spousal maintenance.

    Not sure about payments whilst abroad, but if he ever returns to UK employment you can apply to the court for an increase - guess thats the fear!
  • ohcrap
    ohcrap Posts: 49 Forumite
    Thank you for your advice and comments. I think he is working for an American based company. He was supposed to pick up our child from nursery months ago but did not show up for him, I later heard he had gone abroad. He didn't show up to court for the financial hearing so I cut my losses... anyway he is back now to contest the £1/year!
  • kelloggs36
    kelloggs36 Posts: 7,712 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    What a total wa*ker - you are well shot of him!!!!!!!
  • ohcrap
    ohcrap Posts: 49 Forumite
    I quite agree Kellogg! Thank you
  • pusscat
    pusscat Posts: 386 Forumite
    It is a long time since I was up on this, but I think that if the principle of spousal maint is that if it established as part of the divorce then it is a lot easier to get a variation done at a later point - if the current rate is £1 then it can only really be varied upwards.

    If the judge had made a clean break settlement then it is very very difficult to go back and get a variation.

    A variation is when circumstances have changed (ex comes back to UK?) and you are able to apply to the court to have the amount of maint changed.

    Hope this helps - I think it is a good thing for you to have.


    Puss
    xx
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