Financial implications of divorce – Q&A with Marilyn Stowe

[Marilyn StoweMember]

[Amy]

Hi – I have a NHS, final salary pension. My husband doesn’t have a pension. The value of my pension pot is currently equal to the equity in the house. I have heard that I could keep my pension and he would get 100% of equity in house. This would leave me without any money to buy a new house and I would have to wait until I am 68, if I live that long, to realise any of my pension pot. I have also heard of the option of sharing the pension when I reach retirement age. This too would be hard to accept as he refused to pay into a pension and spent his money on other things whilst I focussed on trying to finance our future. Could you help with options and implications. Thanks for your help

[Charlie]

Hi Marilyn,
I’m currently studying Law at University, and am working specifically on pre-nuptial agreements.
I would be really interested to know your thoughts on the current state of pre-nuptial agreements in England and Wales. I understand that the Law Commission released it’s consultation paper last year with a view to potentially introducing legislation this year, but do you really think this will happen? Is there an appetite to make them legally binding? Or, do you think the case of Radmacher has gone far enough?
The topic of pre-nuptial agreements greatly interests me, and the more I read, the more I can’t really decide my opinion on them!
I love reading not only your past blogs on pre-nups, but all your posts and it would be fantastic to hear your views on this! Thanks for your time.

[Jacky]

Hi Marilyn,
I am conducting my own divorce and Final hearing is set for September. I understand that i have to file and serve a s25 narrative statement 28 days before. I understand s25 but I would be enormously grateful for an explanation of how to set out this narrative. Do I address each s25 factor in turn and argue my case for the same? Must I attach evidence?
Your advice would be very much appreciated.

Jacky

[Jill]

My partner and his ex wife were married for 7 years and had a child within the marriage. Both maintenance and spousal maintenance payments have been made since their divorce with the child maintenance recently ceasing as the child is 18 and at University. My partner would now like to cease the spousal maintenance payments (the agreement states that this will not cease unless she remarries) as his ex wife is now cohabiting with her boyfriend of over 10 years and has a full time job. She says she requires the maintenance to continue in order to continue supporting her child. My partner is happy to provide for his child (he has always done this more than adequestely) but does not wish to give the money directly to his ex wife for her use and distribution and prefers this to be an agreement between himself and his child. His ex wife is unwilling to agree to this. Can you offer any advice especially in light of the Grey v Grey Case. Thank you

[Jan]

My husband was married for 14 years with 2 children now 22 and 18yrs. He has been divorced for 10 years and has a court order paying £700 global maintenance to his ex wife. She kept the house and car and he took on all the debts (he has just finished paying these off).
She still only works 25 hours a week and has made no effort to find a full time job despite the judge reducing the maintenance from £1000 to £700 after a year to allow her time to find one. She has no claim on his pension.
Now the children are adults do you think there is any chance we will be able to reduce this figure and get a clean break in the future?
His salary has not changed .
How she can get away with this is beyond me.

[Eddie Kelly]

Im currently going through an fdr and have my second stage hearing in 4 weeks time, the only thing that was arranged at the first hearing was an agreement to have a valuation done of our property that we jointly own. My ex partner has lied on her form E regarding saving accounts that she has and has lied regarding a loan that she says that she has had off her parents to buy her car but it was paid for with the proceedes of and insurance claim which can be proven, but to prove this i would need the courts to reqeust copies of her bank statments that are three years old also the valuation that came back of our property was £25000 less than the value of a property that is identical just a few doors down which is currently on the market and £27500 less than an identical property that was sold in the street in february 2011 which is the only prperty to be sold in this street since 2009 would i have a chance to over turn this valuation and to get a genuine valuation done. The marrage had broken down and my ex took it upon her self to unlawfully exclude me from the marital home with out reason, so through the whole procees i have been trying to do this in an amicable way but have been troubled by her non cooperative manner when i asked for my 3 valuation for my form E i wasnt given access to the marital home and the valuer had to do a valuation on a drive bye basis to this end he came up with a valuation £15000 higher than what was produced on the jointly agreed valuation which just so happens to be the same as the valuations that my ex partner has had done but given the current market in the street and the new enterents to the market is way below par. What iam asking is would i be able to over turn this or do i have to insist on a new valuation as this is vitally important as this is the only asset and the only thing i have as all my posessions are still in the property and been uable to retrive them iom in a desperate situation and feel my solicitor is only going through the motions hope you could shed some light thank you eddie

[Lisa]

Hi Marilyn,
I left my husband almost 2 years ago on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour. He has been uncooperative throughout the entire process. I even had to get a process server to serve the papers on him as he ignored the first two or three copies that were sent to him!
When it came to the first appointment, I only had 30 minutes prior to seeing the judge to look at the Form E (my husband only submitted his the day prior to the hearing). The judge deferred the first appointment hearing so that we had more time to look at the paperwork.
My husband’s Form E was full of inaccurate information that can be proved by checking the bank statements that he provided, but he also witheld pertinent documents that were required by the court.
We are both in our mid 30s, I started paying into a pension scheme in 1997, my husband a few years later (2001). Mine is currently worth more as I have paid into the same scheme, for longer and because it is a final salary scheme.
In 2001 my husband bought what was to be the FMH in his sole name (he refused to let me jointly purchase it).
In the same year I used my childhood savings to jointly purchase my family home (with a family member) under the right to buy scheme. We paid the full amount in cash, so there was never any mortgage.
In 2003 I moved into what became the FMH, paid off a £4K debt, and the FMH was then transferred into joint names.
The marriage took place in 2006. During the period of the marriage, I was the primary earner. The difference in salaries at that time was perhaps at most 33% and we did live quite comfortably. My husband would pay some of the household bills and then spend the rest on whatever he wanted. However, I took care of the majority of household bills, holidays, household appliance purchases/repairs, car costs, etc and also took responsibility for savings. All from which my husband benefitted. And in the meantime I was left with far less disposable cash compared to my husband.
All my savings were used to pay for home improvements and holidays (over £20K in the space of 5 years), and all from which we both benefitted.
Now that we have separated, he is trying to claim my pension, savings, and my family home, whilst also requesting that the FMH simply be transferred into his name. I have also been denied access to the FMH to collect my remaining personal belongings.
I am aggrieved that he can seem to flaunt the court system, and am aggrieved that I may lose everything that I fought so hard to build to ensure a bit of future financial security.
In the meantime, he has full access to the FMH, whilst I am living with family without my personal belongings (they are being stored by friends), and excluding those that I have not been able to retrieve from the FMH, and am living without my own furniture or appliances.
My husband claims that I should hand everything over to him as I have apparently been able to ‘suitably rehouse’ myself.
In the meantime, his salary has increased substantially, and as he works for a major UK bank he has a very good chance of being able to secure a remortgage to buy me out of the FMH, as well as having access to preferential mortgage terms and interest rates. The current mortgage outstanding is less than 50% of the property value.
I really do not know how much I am likely to lose financially speaking, nor do I know if the courts are likely to impose any sanctions on my husband for the very late submission of his Form E, the fact that he was far from truthful with the information that he did supply, and the fact that he witheld a substantial amount of paperwork.
My primary concerns are where I am likely to stand with my pension, and that I do not lose my family home – a home that I purchased 2 years before I started cohabiting, and 5 years before we actually got married. And furthermore, a property that I have not paid a penny towards since the initial purchase in 2001 (the agreement for me to not charge my family rent).
My husband is being completely unreasonable and uncooperative and will continue to be until the courts eventually step. However long that takes…
Your comments/advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Bradley Stevenson]

Hi Marilyn,

I’m having to represent myself. I applied for a divorce and of course my wife then applied for financial relief. I gave her the house, offered money out of my pension, despite having paid a very large sum in to one in her own name so if we ever did get divorced she would leave mine alone. I even gave her a large lump of money a few days after I left. Anyway, her financial application has been dismissed, thrown out, by the Judge, she did not turn up for the last two hearings, perhaps it was that, or the fact that we have an Imerman vs Imerman and the Police are involved (i’ve not hidden any assets though), anyway her application has been thrown out and I applied for my Decree Absolute, which has been granted yeah!!!!!!!!!!!, sorry…..So my question is can my wife bring another financial application for relief given a) her first application was thrown out and b) we are now divorced?

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

[Johannes]

I was granted my decree absolute last october without the finances being settled. I was made redundant last june before the court order for settlement was made and moved to portugal to the house which we joint own. the court order was made in august saying that i had until december to buy my ex wife out of the portuguese property (our only asset). obviously i cant do that as i have no job. the only income i have is from renting the portuguese property out during the summer months whilst i live in a caravan. the change in my financial circumstances were not taken into consideration in the court order. In the meantime my ex wife has also moved to portugal with her new partner and new children. where do i stand with the court order? ie does the english court have juristiction considering that the property in outside the uk and we both now live abroad.

[col]

my husband has now petitioned for divorce and asks that I sign over the property in full to him….no financial gain to me. His reason being that he bought it with the proceeds of a sale of a house that he lived in with mortgage when I moved in with him prior to our marriage…he subsequently cleared that mortgage with monies left to him by his mother. we married in 2004 and then in 2006 bought the house in Spain…him putting my name on the deeds….have I any legal rights to any of this property?

[Evelyn Reid]

Marilyn, I am just about to start the process of divorcing my husband – when preparing for this, are there any pitfalls you would suggest trying to avoid in terms of the required financial disclosure? How much disclosure will we both need to provide in terms of our respective financial situations and what can I do to reduce the amount of information I have to prepare / provide?

[Marilyn Stowe]

Hi Amy
Thanks for your question. There are a number of factors which might impact on how the court would address your case. It is indeed possible that the value of your pension be “offset” against the equity in the house, but only if it is right in the circumstances. The court would need to consider all the circumstance of the case, including your respective earning positions, the value of the assets (including the house), the length of the marriage and your ages, and the respective contributions each of you made throughout the marriage. Further, the house is a liquid capital asset, whereas the pension fund is illiquid, and the impact of this is that it is not always so simple as comparing the value of one against the value of the other.
The reality is that the court would seek, in considering distribution of the assets, to ensure that both of you can be adequately housed, and would be unlikely to order that you retain all of your pension but have no share of the equity: a pension isn’t much use in the intervening years if you have no roof over your head! It might be that the house is sold and the equity shared between you (not necessarily in equal amounts) to enable you both to rehouse, subject to your respective mortgage capacities. To advise you more fully I would advise consulting a solicitor who can take all the necessary further information from you.

[Marilyn Stowe]

Hi Charlie
As I’ve mentioned before in previous blogs [links??], my own view is that pre-nuptial agreements sit very uneasily with the current law. We currently operate in a discretionary system, where the judge will consider all the circumstances of the case (as set out in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973) in order to try and reach a solution which is fair. A pre-nup diminishes, at the very least, the scope of judicial discretion, and in my mind there is something quite unappealing about the role of fairness being undermined by an agreement signed potentially last minute, and with significant potential for arm-twisting and emotional blackmail. We don’t want a position where the economically weaker spouse is “legally handcuffed” to the other because it could well affect the state of the marriage going forward. That being said, I quite understand people’s desire to protect what is “their’s”, and I expect robust and uncompromising legislation may well be enacted to give more formal legal status to these agreements particularly in relation to pre-owned and inherited assets. In the meantime given the decision in Radmacher and the follow up cases which have recently come before the courts perhaps it could be argued we have already gone far enough.

[Marilyn Stowe]

Dear Jacky
Many thanks for posting your question. As you will be aware, the s25 factors are those factors set out in Section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 which the court will consider when making any financial settlement. These include:
• The parties’ income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources
• The parties’ needs, obligations and responsibilities
• The parties’ standard of living enjoyed during the marriage
• The parties’ contributions both financial and otherwise
• The parties’ income and employment prospects
• The length of the marriage and the ages of the parties
• Any health issues/disabilities

I would recommend that you use each of the factors as headings in your statement, and that you deal with each in turn, providing a comprehensive summary for the court of the issues in your case. Of course some may well not be relevant. It may be useful to exhibit evidence to the statement, but only where the court has not had sight of that information previously.
Remember, you must be careful in the statement not to refer to discussions between you and your spouse at the Financial Dispute Resolution Hearing (“FDR”), or to any comments made by the Judge at that hearing, as the Judge at the Final Hearing must come to the case without any knowledge of the negotiations at the FDR.
As an extra point, don’t forget to provide to the court and to your spouse (or his solicitors) updating financial disclosure (e.g. more recent bank statements) prior to the Final Hearing itself. Best of luck.

[Marilyn Stowe]

Hi Jill
Firstly, I would caution your partner against simply stopping the maintenance payments. Even if he believes he has strong grounds to do so, this leaves him open to expensive enforcement proceedings, additional costs and interest. As you may be aware, there are no automatic provisions for the termination of maintenance because of cohabitation by the receiving spouse, unless the court order expressly provides for this, which appears not to be the case in your partner’s situation. If the matter cannot be agreed between your partner and his ex-wife, your partner may have to consider an application to court to terminate his maintenance payments. The current law requires a review of all the circumstances, including your partner’s income, your income (if you live together), his ex-wife’s (now full time) income, and her boyfriend’s financial position. NB The question is not what the boyfriend is actually contributing to the household, but what he ought to be contributing. Without knowing the specifics of the respective financial positions, it is impossible to give specific advice as to the likely outcome of an application to court. If your partner makes the application to court he should be prepared to produce full financial disclosure for exchange with his ex-wife, and should be prepared for the possibility that the court may, having considered the financial positions of the parties and all the circumstances of the case, actually increase the maintenance rather than terminating it. I would suggest that you take further legal advice from a specialist family lawyer.

[Marilyn Stowe]

Jan
I appreciate your frustration. Orders for spousal maintenance, and particularly for lifetime spousal maintenance, are often the source of heated arguments. I cannot give advice specific to your financial circumstances without knowing the full picture as to your husband and his ex wife’s respective financial positions. However, it may be useful to consider the following. Firstly, as I said to Jill in the question above, I would advise against your husband taking any steps to terminate the maintenance without his ex’s consent, or a court order. The implications of this are likely to be costly. If his ex will not agree to any termination of maintenance, or even a reduction, your husband would have to apply to court to terminate the maintenance. Both your husband and his ex would be required to produce and exchange financial disclosure, and the court will review all the circumstances of the case, including his ex’s current income position, and her realistic earning potential. The fact that the children are over 18 may well be relevant, but it will depend on the ex’s income and outgoings. NB, whilst your husband’s income might not have changed, the court would also have to consider the impact of his remarriage to you, and your financial position, as any income received by you will assist your husband in meeting his outgoings. I hope this is of some assistance. Again it would be wise to take detailed legal advice.

[Marilyn Stowe]

Eddie
I am sorry that you feel dissatisfied with your current solicitors, and I will do my best to address each of the issues you raise. Regarding your desire to challenge the joint valuation of the property, your first port of call would be to put questions to the jointly instructed expert. You should seek evidence of the information the valuer relied on to produce the valuation (if it was not included in the report itself) and ensure that the valuer was aware of the two other properties on your street, one in which is on the market and one of which was sold last year. The valuer has a duty to consider suitable comparable properties in valuing the property. However, if you are unable to encourage the valuer to reconsider the valuation by way of questions, you would need to obtain a further valuation of the property, and seek leave to have that report admitted to court. Of course, if your spouse will not allow you access to the property you would have to make the application to court first, so that the judge, if he allows the second report, can order her to give you access to the property. As the FDR is only 4 weeks away, your solicitor may wish to consider making an urgent application to this effect. You should remember that the judge will of course be guided by the current market conditions, and the court will normally allow for a small range of reasonable figures above and below the valuation given. Whatever you do, you need to speak to your solicitors urgently about this as it is unlikely that the FDR will be effective without an agreed value for the home having been reached.
Regarding your possessions, if your spouse has refused requests by your solicitors to give you access to the property, you should consider dealing with this in the final financial agreement. The order might state that your spouse must make certain specified items available to you for collection within 7 days of the order, for example.
Best of luck with your FDR.

[Marilyn Stowe]

Lisa
Let’s start with how the court might address your case. In trying to achieve a fair result for the parties, the court will seek to meet each of your needs first, by reference to the s25 criteria, found at s25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. These include your respective earning capacities, your contributions to the marriage and each of your assets. Your ability to rehouse is going to be relevant, BUT that doesn’t mean that your husband will necessarily take all the equity in the former matrimonial home in exchange for you retaining your family home. To advise you further, we would need to understand the values of the properties, along with the contributions that each of you made. It may be that, having considered the figures, your husband would be expected to pay you a proportion of the equity by way of lump sum. Remember, any claim that your husband makes against your property can only be against your share. Is there a declaration of trust setting out the proportions in which the property is owned, or with reference to who can live there?
As you may be aware, the court has the power to make orders with regards to your pension, but again this will depend on your respective pension positions. You are both young enough to each build up your own pension provisions.
Finally, if your husband’s salary has increased dramatically, you need to consider whether this might be a case where maintenance should be payable to you.
Regarding any possessions of yours which remain in the former matrimonial home (in your joint names), you are well within your rights to enter and collect your belongings. The police may well assist in providing a community support officer to attend the property with you. However, if you think this likely to be too aggravating, ensure that there is provision in the final order for your husband to make them available to you.
You mention your husband’s conduct in relation to the financial proceedings; namely delays in providing his Form E, and incomplete or at worst dishonest financial disclosure. Only in very extreme cases will conduct by one party directly impact on the settlement imposed by the courts, but it may be possible to seek a costs order against your husband at the next hearing, relating to any extra work your solicitors might have done to deal with his non-cooperation, and any delays it might have caused. Have you had the opportunity of preparing a Questionnaire (usually prepared in advance of the FDA) on your husband’s Form E? This would be your first port of call to address the issues of lack of disclosure and any discrepancies.

[Marilyn Stowe]

Dear Bradley
The first thing we would need to look at is the wording of the order dismissing your ex- wife’s claims. It may be that the judge has made an order preventing your wife from making any further claims in the future. If not, your ex-wife could still make an application for financial relief until (and if) she remarries in the future. Decree Absolute will not prevent this.

[Marilyn Stowe]

Hi Johannes

I would urge you to make an application back to the court which originally made the order in August last year if you need more time to buy your ex-wife out of the property. The English court retains jurisdiction over its own orders, and you may be incurring interest against the debt. The application would be to vary the consent order, and you may also seek to reduce the amount payable. I appreciate that it may well be difficult to make such an application whilst you are residing in Portugal, but I would advise strongly against letting matters drift. Remember that your ex-wife can take steps to enforce the consent order at any point now that the payment is overdue. Best of luck.

[Marilyn Stowe]

Col
You should never, ever, agree a financial settlement without first having the benefit of good, informed, legal advice. You are a wife, and you have legal rights and entitlements to a full financial settlement which includes as appropriate, maintenance and capital. In making a decision, the court will take into account all the income capital and circumstances of the parties and considers the whole picture. Although the source of the financial contributions to property is taken into account, the court will make an assessment of both parties reasonable needs and if your own needs cannot be met without recourse to that property, it will be used to help meet your needs. So please, see a solicitor and get some advice about the entire picture, and what you are likely to obtain, and sign nothing at all in the meantime!

[Marilyn Stowe]

Dear Evelyn
There is an obligation on both parties to provide full frank and honest disclosure of their entire financial position to each other and the court.
I would suggest you obtain a copy of Form E. This document is what is normally provided to start the ball rolling in terms of disclosure. Both parties Forms E are exchanged with the other and each party considers whether in his or her view that is sufficient to allow the case to proceed. If either party thinks it is not, a Questionnaire can be prepared seeking further disclosure. It will then be up to the District Judge at the First Appointment to decide how much more should be provided if the content of the Questionnaire is opposed.
Of course the parties can agree if this is to be negotiated out of court, to avoid the completion of a Form E and they can decide to accept as little disclosure as they want. If an agreement is reached the overall financial position of the parties must be disclosed to the court at the same time because the court has to consider the terms of the proposed order in the context of the parties finances.

[jayne doe]

hi marilyn, i would like to ask you about the situation i am in, my ex common law husband has just got divorced and his ex wife has claimed against the property that i have had in my family for 28 years although we bought it together with a 44% discount from the council ( i was given the house under the witness protection due to my then husband cimmiting murder )and he was only here for less that 2 years after we bought it,when i found out he was seeing his ex wife who he re married, they met 39 years ago and have been married twice, he signed the house over to me for the children but in their divorce the judge over ruled the transfere so she could claim on my familys home, they took me to court in 2002 for custody of the children then again in2004 for the house and he was awarded 50% which is what he signed over to me, i am registered disabled and have paid all the mortgage ect on the house since 2000 when he left, i have been told by the court that i should have been notified 25 months before thier divorce in september and it was her solicitor that should have notified me and the mortgage providers, neither of us had any notification, i have brought his children up alone since we seperated, the affect this had had on us mentally emotionally and financially is devestating, the court appears to have a very complaisant attitude to this womans wants, she is living with the man she was having an affair with that broke up their mairage for the 2nd time, i have been to my local mp, the csa, ect. as you can see this is a very complex case and i have only got a few weeks left before she goes to court to force the sale of my family home, any advise would help especially on the legalaties of being notified , thanks, regards jayne doe

[Marilyn Stowe]

Dear Jayne

I note that you have indicated that there are impending proceedings regarding your home, but from the details you have provided it is not entirely clear what those proceedings are. It does however seem to me that you need to take some urgent legal advice to protect your position. You indicate that your ex-husband’s ex-wife is now applying to the Courts to realise an interest she has in your home. Clearly if you are legal owner of that property but it forms part of your ex-husband’s divorce and financial proceedings then you should have been notified of those proceedings and had an opportunity to become a party to the case. If no such notification was provided then there may be grounds for matters to be redressed. However, it is evident this is a very complex case and without the benefit of the full facts and details, it is impossible for me to advise you. We do provide a free legal advice clinic which is held on Monday nights between 5pm and 7pm. Our legal advice clinics are held at each of our offices – London, Hale and Harrogate – please contact Morna on 01423 532600 for an appointment if you would like us to advise you further.

[Nigel]

Hi Marilyn

My wife left me and I went to see a solicitor who has given me an estimate of costs for dealing with the divorce and finances. I have given him all of the information and he has provided his estimate based on this information. I can afford the amount he has estimated but can’t get legal aid and I’m worried what will happen if I start this and the costs go up and I can’t afford them. In your experience, how much faith should I put on this estimate? The solicitor has a good reputation and is well known in the area.

Nigel H

[jayne doe]

hi marilyn, thankyou so much for your reply, the hearing set for next month is the final divorce hearing , this has been going on for aproximately 2 years now and i was notified that he had lost half of the house to her on the day of the divorce, i sent an email to your office a few days ago explaining things in more depth than i want to make public, thank you so much for yor advise, i do intend to take this as far as i can, i have brought up my children without their father to be good honest people and i am so proud of them all, and it is for them that ihave to fight this, the law is fundamentaly flawed, allowing a woman who had nothing to do with the purchase or up keep of the property, to be openly handed half of it in a divorce settlement of a man who only contributed for 2 years to the mortgage. i will take your advise and phone, thank you again j. doe

[Marilyn Stowe]

Hi Nigel
Thanks for your comment. I would tell him exactly what you have told me and have him respond in writing so he can set out more fully the basis on which he is proceeding.
A solicitor’s estimate must be given at the outset and given on the basis you can rely on it within a reasonable margin. Obviously lawyers cant guess which way a case is actually going to go and what unexpected twists and turns will happen as it progresses, but unless there is a good reason to explain why the costs estimate has severely altered and the costs estimate has been promptly updated as a result, a court is likely to hold a solicitor to the estimate or thereabout if there is an assessment of costs.
Best wishes
Marilyn

[Toots]

Hi I am in a frustrating situation and have been for years and would welcome some advice. Having eventually finalised a 3 year divorce a couple of years ago I find my ex is still being difficult and controlling when it comes to selling the FMH. The judge ordered maintainable for me and my children from which I had to pay the bills, insurances and mortgage until the house sold. 3 years on he is still refusing offers. The order stated that the house is to sell and should it reach above the price given to court at the time we both benefited from the extra. If it dropped below that figure I received a fixed amount and he the remainder after fees etc were paid. The house is falling into a poor state as I cannot afford to make the improvements needed, and my ex states all repairs are my responsibility…. He has stated that he will not fund any improvements or repairs to the home. I feel so frustrated by being tied to a situation I am paying for but have no control over. I have been told that if it went to court he would be awarded the house as he has the capital to buy me out… And if I wanted the house I would have to pay the full asking price. There is much more detail I could state but wish not to at this stage eg the refusal to give me his address! Regards

[Teresa]

My husband walked out 18 months ago. We have been married 38 years. I have been told by my solicitor that I am not entitled to spousal maintenance but could probably get half his pension and half the house. I still have a fifteen year old son at home so will get child maintenance. Can you please advise me. I am 57 now on benefits and have no hope of getting a job. My husband is off sick but says he intends to return to work and earns at least £60,000. He wants the divorce rushed through. I think he might be retiring on ill health and will be entitled to a one off lump sum from his company. I hear of my friends receiving spousal maintenance and in one case she has received it for seven years. Got equity in the house and 40% pension. Please help as I don’t reach retirement age until 66. I am worried about the future and need your advice.

[Author]

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