High Earner - Will I Loose Everything?

Hi,
I am a high earner (95k) and probably live beyond our means (credit cards, loans, holidays etc). She earns around 9k part time and pays most of the utility bills were as I pay our 250k mortgage, credit cards, loans and general living etc. 2 Children 11 and 16. Spent my whole marriage as many do trying to keep the wife and kids happy financially (don't spend a penny on myself).
Am I set to loose the lot if I divorce?
With child maintenance calculation and mortgage payments (to keep the kids in the family home) alone would take approx. 50% of my monthly income and thats without any other financial commitments or even thinking of finding a place for myself.

Any advice please?

Well, you don't say how much the house is worth or whether there are any other assets such as savings or pensions. These things are potentially relevant.

Having said that, I can put you straight on one point. It is that you do not necessarily have an obligation to pay child maintenance AND the mortgage. Assuming, for example, that your wife got to stay in the house with the children (which might be time limited) she would be expected to assume responsibility for paying the mortgage and to indemnify you against all liability under the mortgage. She would be expected to pay it from her own income from all sources which would include her own income, sources like child benefit and the child maintenance payments received from you. Maintaining children does mean providing accommodation for them so it is a perfectly proper use of child maintenance to apply it to paying the mortgage. You do not have a double liability here.

Thanks for your reply.
Only assets we have other than a shared car (35k purchased 3 years ago) is a 18k horse(for my daughter which we have a 14k loan outstanding) and 13k Horse box (not sure what sort of value is put on all of these and if depreciation is considered? If I was to hand all of these over would that help?
Probably have approx. 100k pension in the pot, however I have more time left working than I've currently worked (20 years).

So in response to you your reply, although I don't want to see my kids without a roof over there heads, I wouldn't be expected to pay both the mortgage and CM?

How would spousal maintenance work, could that be on top of CM?....suppose my fear is despite my decent salary not be able to afford to start a fresh and she keeps everything including the house.

Cheers

>>I wouldn't be expected to pay both the mortgage and CM?

No. As to the rest you do not give say what the house is worth so it is impossible to say how the equity would be shared.

As to chattels (which is what a car, horse box etc are) their value is their current second hand value not what was paid for them. The horse sounds like a money pit. My guess would be that the ordinary child maintenance formula will not be enough to cover the costs of maintaining the horse and I doubt that you can easily dispose of it without causing an emotional earthquake.

House worth approx 400k....probably 150k equity/profit in it.

So can the 'Chattels'....and 'money pit' be used to offset CM/spousal maintenance or are these additional?

Suppose what am getting at is am I able to use the above to reduce my monthly out goings (payments I have to pay to her legally) to allow me to start again or potentially will I have to hand over 50%+ of my monthly income which would leave me unable to afford a place for myself?

It is difficult to see how you can avoid paying out a larger chunk of your income each month in these circumstances. There are two dependent children and you earn 95K compared to your wife's 9K. Also there is a relatively large mortgage compared to the value of the property and the amount of equity does not seem to make it realistic that the house should be sold immediately and the equity divided between you. Then there is the horse which is presumably for one or both children. Although common sense would seem to suggest selling the horse and everything to do with it in order, hopefully, to pay off the loan incurred in buying it and the costs of maintaining it whether that is practical is another matter. It might be regarded as the equivalent of having the pet rabbit for lunch.

So how does that work going forward, if I had to pay a large chunk yet unable to find somewhere new to live?

I am all for paying for the children but I also have to think about how I move forward if at all possible, as by the sound of things am going to get shafted?

I really don't think there is much more I can add.

Newbie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So how does that work going forward, if I had to
> pay a large chunk yet unable to find somewhere new
> to live?
>
> I am all for paying for the children but I also
> have to think about how I move forward if at all
> possible, as by the sound of things am going to
> get shafted?

You've been given terrible advice here.

I have deleted the body of this post. You should, of course, take independent legal advice before taking any step which will have significant financial consequences from you but not by the method suggested by ConfusionReigns.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2022 10:48AM by David Terry.

ConfusionReigns Wrote:
-
> Any spousal maintenance you pay her will reduce
> her universal credit so a bit pointless paying.
> Also, she can get all kinds of passport benefits
> as a UC claimant so not in her interests anyway.
> Suggest you just offer to carry on paying for the
> horse instead, in return for a clean break.


this comment speaks volumes, are you advising someone to shirk their legal responsibility to their wife and children because the taxpayer will pay instead?
Seriously?