‘We have separated, and I’ve left. My wife is in the home with our child. I couldn’t stay, it was too tense. Now she wants me to pay the bills there as well as at my own place. Money is tight. What can I do?
We are talking about what interim maintenance, if any, should be paid by you to your spouse here and the test that is applied by the law is broad. That is such an order that the judge thinks reasonable can be made for you to pay your wife.
Non-Court Dispute Resolution
That is not to say that other forms of resolution are not preferred. They absolutely are, and entering into lengthy, expensive and stressful proceedings in an unfamiliar and daunting court arena before a ‘stranger’ (judge), who may know little of the context and nuances of your situation, unless all else fails, needs to be approached with caution.
That is why we can offer alternative methods of resolution by setting out what your own financial circumstances are, what is reasonably available, and make out of court proposals in the interests of reaching an interim agreement for you that also accords with your needs in the interim period whilst other substantial financial remedies are considered.
The legal ‘tests’
To determine this, the law’s established test of fairness towards each of you is applied considering your overall circumstances and needs.
The purpose is to meet immediate needs balanced with your respective availability of resources & standard of living.
The separation between you is not a reason, of itself, to depart from a reasonably expected standard of living enjoyed by each of you during the marriage, nor for it to be either reduced or increased.
The standard of living is relative and, obviously, if there is a lot of money available, a joint standard of living can be reasonably maintained separately in the interim period.
The law in this area acknowledges that, ordinarily, it is unlikely that the standard of living can be maintained by both parties and the children simply due to a lack of sufficient resources to house each party in the manner that they are used to as a couple. Single life can be disproportionately expensive, but the application of the law’s priority is always going to point to the needs of the children and the primary carer.
What the law may think is a reasonable award stems from what may be a limited availability of all financial information at the early part of a matrimonial financial relief remedy case, therefore a rough and ready approach has historically been adopted.
Critical analysis of your individual budgets on separation is undertaken. Think about the essential immediate income and expenditure needs of each of you currently and whether those are reasonable with a common-sense approach. Is the list of needs a fair guide?
Interim budget needs
Specific interim budget needs should avoid long-term expenditure. Compare mortgage payments (interim) with holiday savings (long-term) as an example.
However, bear in mind that some expenditures that aren’t necessarily incurred every month may still be deemed a reasonable expense to seek help with, which could be averaged over a relevant period, say 3 or 6 months. Nursery or School fees are a case in point and can even be sought on a stand-alone basis in one application.
Given that all circumstances are different, it is essential that you seek interim maintenance advice at the earliest possible stage of your separation to try and avoid the costs and stress that court applications of this nature inevitably create.
We can discuss your interim maintenance case with you at an initial free half-hour appointment where we can determine how we can help you, how much this element is going to cost, and weigh up that cost against the benefit of pursuit.