Clean break settlement

Thank you. However, presumably the calculator is intended as a guide: what is the rationale for suggesting an 80/20 (or other non-50/50) split?

Also, this is taking place entirely in Scotland - does that make any difference?

Also, are you please able to explain the meaning of the two Maintenence figures? Are solicitors/mediation likely to agree somewhere between the two?

Thanks again.

Scotland has a different system so the calculator is not regarded as accurate in England / Wales and definitely won't be in Scotland.

Very generally the court is going to want to see the children who are still children at the final hearing date which could be a few years away and at a minimum will be six months or so housed. So your mum currently has a housing need of a three bedroom house but if I was advising your dad I would be aiming to spin this one out as in a few months time the strict housing need would be a two bedroom flat / house. So where ever you all are living now which presumably has five bedrooms will need to be sold and any equity available your mum with her job has a mortgage capacity could purchase a place and your dad could also purchase a place.

After everyone's housing is sorted out you move onto pensions and normally they would be equalised unless there was some special reason not to.

After that looking at any other assets.

Scotland as I understand it has a three year maximum for spousal maintenance and with older children it's likely your mum would be encouraged to utilise her earning capacity by going back to work full time. She will be assigned an earning capacity anyway whether she chooses to maximise that or not.

There are other issues specific to Scotland such as matrimonial property and whether that property has been bought into the marriage but I don't know enough about it and anyway it probably applies to situations where everyone's basic needs such as housing are already being met.