Separation/Divorce - Moving out, possible to obtain another mortgage.

ian1246

Your best bet is to utilise the calculators which are available to universal credit claimants. They aren't 100% accurate but should give you a rough estimate.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/universal-credit/

The governments also got links to 3 calculators.

https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

You need to seek legal advice around continued contributions to the mortgage - if your not living there then that's her costs to cover. Albeit with the income gap, you could probably class that 50% as Spousal maintainance.

But seek advice first on what you do next - solicitors are expensive but if its going the formal route, well worth their cost. Ultimately you should be pushing for at clean break (bar Child Maintainance). If that means she gets a larger share of the equity as a form of Spousal maintainance buy out, so be it.

But a multi-decade ongoing commitment towards mortgage costs? Absolutely not.

jetstream25

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81873214#Comment_81873214

Thank you for that advice. So, what I seemed to find out is that if we divorced and I contributed nothing she'd get more from the Government. For every £100 I contribute that amount gets reduced.
Excuse my naivety! First time handling this.

Thanks again.

saajan_12

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81881665#Comment_81881665

Well that's not necessarily your choice to make, if you're required to maintain the family home for the children or contribute child support or spousal maintenance. You can't necessarily elect to contribute less so that the benefits pay more.

What is spouse's earning potential - basically is it just low due to childcare and hence may change once the youngest is in secondary school, or does her education and experience make significantly higher earnings unlikely?

Ultimately you'll need to speak to a divorce lawyer, as this isn't just a housing issue but how much you have to contribute.

jetstream25

Thanks all… next question… is anyone able to recommend a divorce lawyer (or a choice of them), one they've used before/could trust?

DE_612183

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81886727#Comment_81886727

You probably need someone local so you can speak face to face…

freesha

Always a local one, so you can

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81886727#Comment_81886727

Always a local one, so you can drop documents in easily, and have F2F appointments if needed.