Payment of Maintenance on Divorce

• Maintenance for a Spouse on Divorce
• Interim Maintenance and Maintenance Pending Suit
• Application for Maintenance Pending Suit
• Application to the Court to vary a maintenance order

Maintenance for a Spouse on Divorce

Maintenance (or periodical payments) for a Spouse on Divorce are based on the parties needs and will be most appropriate where there is an ongoing maintenance requirement for one spouse that can not be met in any other way. Spousal Maintenance is very different from maintenance for children and must allways be considered separately.
A mother with any but the youngest of children will be required to work to maintain herself, but reliance on State Benefits will be considered only as a final option where no money is available elsewhere for maintenance. Often an Order for maintenance following divorce will be short term such as when a party needs to obtain training prior to employment, or to allow children to grow to at least school age.

The Court can no longer decide maintenance orders for children. Such maintenance orders are now made by the Child Support Agency, and calculated in accordance with their statutory formula.

Sometimes a ‘nominal’ maintenance Order will be made for a spouse such as for £1 a year. This will keep the parties claim alive, and allow it to be increased by further Order of the Court should the need arise such as on the ill health, or inability to work of a mother caring for young children.

When a ‘clean break’ Order is made, it would be usual to extinguish any right to ongoing maintenance, either immediately or after a relatively short period.

Maintenance when awarded can always be varied up or down depending on each parties financial circumstances. Thus it could be affected by the remarriage of one party, or unemployment, illness or an inheritance.



Interim Maintenance and Maintenance Pending Suit

These can be claimed as soon as the Petition has been issued and are intended to be an emergency measures to provide an income before the final amount is settled or dealt with at a final hearing. Maintenance Pending Suit will end on the pronouncement of decree absolute. Most maintenance Orders will end on remarriage or cohabitation of the person receiving maintenance and on death.

The procedure for Maintenance Applications

The application for a maintenance order will be contained in the divorce or judicial separation petition, but will not be proceeded with by the court until further application. This is to allow the parties an opportunity to agree.

If matters can not be agreed and before notice of intention to proceed is filed, a protocol must be complied with. This deals with the early disclosure of documents and disclosing evidence which will be relied upon.

There will then follow a Financial Dispute Resolution Appointment (FDR). The purpose is to consider the issues outstanding and to provide a further opportunity to reach agreement.

The hearing is conducted by a District Judge who will not have anything else to do with the case. If a final hearing proves necessary, this will be before a different District Judge. All FDR discussions are completely confidential and privileged so that if agreement cannot be reached the discussions cannot be aired at the final hearing. The Judge at the FDR will however say what he would find were he to be trying the case. As a result, most cases settle at this stage.



Application for Maintenance Pending Suit

When it is not possible for the parties to agree the financial issues in divorce it can take some time before these can be decided by the court. There will need to be full disclosure of incomes, pensions and the like and valuations carried out on the matrimonial assets.
Whilst all this is going on it is often the case that a spouse (usually the wife) is left with no money to pay the household bills and maintain herself and the children. When this happens she should apply for maintenance pending suit.

In all probability the court will then make an immediate order that the other spouse pay maintenance until all the financial claims have been determined and a final Order made.

We have a DIY pack to help and guide you through completing and making the application yourself.

The DIY Maintenance Pending Suit.Pack provides all the information and documents which are needed by a spouse to make an application themselves and save what would almost certainly be very substantial legal costs. The pack can be purchased either through our Secure Trading secure server when you will receive a link to download your purchase immediately payment has been cleared or through Pay Pal when you will receive an email link to download your purchase in a maximum of 24 hours

The Pack costs £14.99 and contains:

• The prescribed Application Form for maintenance pending suit.
• Guidance on completing the Application Form
• A guide to how the Application will be dealt with by the Court.
• A guide to service of the application.



Application to the Court to vary a maintenance order

This application is based upon changed circumstances following an order previously made in matrimonial proceedings. It sets out the changes which have occurred and seeks a reduction in maintenance to be paid to a former spouse on the basis of changes and an increase in necessary expenses by the paying spouse.

The package includes:-

•Link to the necessary prescribed form of application.
•An example of a completed application with supporting statement.
•All necessary help and guidance.

The price of the package is £14.99

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