Divorce Maintenance Order Advice

ohcrap

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

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jay11_2

Does the existence of a maintenance order mean that you could easily apply to have it increased--rather than having to apply for one from scratch? Just a thought, seems strange that the judge would order a 'token' amount without a good reason. There must be something, hopefully someone who knows more will be along soon. Good luck.

loftus

Jay11 has the reason the judge put it in there spot on. Now if conditions change you can apply for the order to be revisited rather than try to pursue a fresh maintenance application. Much less convuluted.

PS There is a better word than revisited but have drunk far too much to remember it!

MXW

Hi,

The word you are looking for is an upward variation (I am doing this myself at the moment) If you think his finanical circumstances have changed it may be worth applying. You don't need a solicitor, you can do this yourself.

Good luck