Spouse choosing not to work to mamimise divorce settlement

Hi

I'm divorcing because of unreasonable (aggressive/moody/drink problem related) behaviour on the part of my spouse which I've put up with for way too many years,. Lockdown gave me a glimpse of what retired life would be like with them and spurred me on to file for divorce. Our teenage children are totally supportive of the divorce needing to happen.

My spouse, who earned more than me, was made redundant a few months after I filed for divorce.

Since then they have made multiple excuses about why they were not actively looking for work, "need to update my CV," "need to update this professional registration certifcate" etc etc and not replied to recruitment consultants who contacted them through linkedin etc.

They've been unemployed (through choice) for well over a year now at a time when the field they work(ed) in has now bounced back from Covid and is booming with so many jobs available. We both have high pressure jobs and I'd even understand if they took a lower level job, just so long as they were working.

Now it's become apparent that it's because they believe that being unemployed will mean that they'll get a larger share of our assets (as they have no income) and I'll have to support them and pay child maintenance for our teenage children in respect of them staying with them for part of the week.

I said I really didn't think this was correct and presumably the court will decide what's what on that score but now they've decided that they can't work because they are depressed/anxious, they've suddenly stopped taking care of themselves which is unpleasant to live with and they won't go to see the GP to get any help.

Can they do this ? Opt not to work after always being in well paid employment ever since they graduated ? Decide they are too ill to work ?

All presumably so that they can maximise their financial settlement.

The court will expect them to maximise their income. If they are saying they can't work for medical reasons you may have to ask the court to order medical report as proof. Not sure how old your teenagers are but it seems totally reasonable for your ex to obtain a full time or near full time job (depending on who has the children living with them).

Also you shouldn't have to pay the ex child maintenance if you have the children living with you more than they are with the ex. It's all based on how many nights a week they stay in each house.