Spousal Maintenance - Non Working Wife

dontknowwhattodonext

After serveral months of debate / hard life, My Wife and I are divorcing amicably, Wife is 57 and does not current work through her choice, so need to agree spousal maintenance, no children I bring home just under £3K/mth after tax/NI/pension. We expect each of our living costs to be roughly the same after divorce. We have been married for 25 years.

Wife has suggested £1,245 per month baised on the https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/paying-your-own-way#yearly-cost-of-living

This quesrtion is for how long?

sassyblue

Will you both have a mortgage free home after the divorce? The question is how long you feel comfortable paying for her life while you work!

She needs to get a job and live in the real world, assuming she’s fit and able. She has several years until her state pension kicks in, does she have a private pension or a lump sum to live off, she can’t expect you to fund  her lifestyle.

Mrsn

Spousal maintenance is very rare these days, perhaps worth some legal advice? Might cost you much less in the longer term.

dontknowwhattodonext

We are in rented property at the moment, she has a small private pension

CookieMonster

Split the marital assets and do it officially through a solicitor: separate your finances completely and permanently.
Don't pay maintenance.

dontknowwhattodonext

I do feal I should pay maintenance for a period of time, as she has no income and no work

thorsoak

Is she making NI contributions?    Thinking about her state pension.   Has she found out how much she should be contributing in order to ensure her pension under her own contributions?

sassyblue

dontknowwhattodonext said:

I do feal I should pay maintenance for a period of time, as she has no income and no work

I’d tell her to start job hunting now and you'll help her up to 6 months, if she genuinely can’t find anything in that time you could extend but don’t tell her that. 

Judges are actually on your side, they’d take a dim view of her choosing not to work if she’s fit and able, the days of men working to support wives is long gone, it usually takes both parties to have a mortgage and keep a home now.

MovingForwards

Re-read your previous threads:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6204307/separation-divorce/p1

And the others before that. All the information has been provided and nothing has changed.

ZaSa1418

dontknowwhattodonext said:

I do feal I should pay maintenance for a period of time, as she has no income and no work

She needs to try and get a job and if that fails she will have to claim benefits. You said earlier it was her choice not to work so it's her problem to fix as she has no one to live off now 

dontknowwhattodonext

thorsoak said:

Is she making NI contributions?    Thinking about her state pension.   Has she found out how much she should be contributing in order to ensure her pension under her own contributions?

No, not making any NI contributions, she has not worked now for 3 years, for the years prior to this, a couple of years where she only did a small amoun of work she has not paid enough NI to qualify, we have discussed about topping these up,  but have not.