Do I have to pay maintenance to my ex?

There are two types of maintenance. A parent who does not live with their child may be liable to pay child maintenance; we explain that in more detail in our blog on how is child maintenance calculated?

In this blog we focus on the other type of maintenance which is known as spousal maintenance. This is paid by the higher earning spouse to the lower earning spouse for (usually) a defined period to enable the lower earning spouse to adjust to financial independence. 

There is no hard and fast rule when calculating spousal maintenance; a lot depends on the reasonable needs of the party receiving the money and the surplus income on the part of the paying party. 

It is possible to negotiate a “clean break” and ‘buy out’ the other party’s spousal maintenance claim by way of a lump sum. A Court can terminate spousal maintenance claims between the parties as part of an overall settlement; this is known as a “Clean Break Order”. It is often for this reason that other assets are divided unequally in favour of the person who is giving up their income claim in exchange for more of the assets. 

Gone are the days of the lifelong maintenance orders apart from in exceptional circumstances. Pension Sharing Orders tend to deal with maintenance beyond the age of retirement. It is rare nowadays for a lifelong maintenance Order to be obtained from the Courts in England and Wales. 

Make early contact with the Harrowells Family Law Team to secure the best possible settlement for your circumstances in relation to spousal maintenance and other aspects of your divorce.