maintenance pay - for how long

Dear all,
I just done the Divorce Calculator and am in shock.
I have worked hard, and my husband has not done a thing in 2 years other than living in my house, studying and having a good time.
He did not even do the diy in the house he had promised, and the little bit he did is all botched.
I did bring the money in and did most of the cleaning and work in the garden etc. he did like me begging him to work and said that I was putting my fears (of paying the bills) onto him and he didn't need that stress.

Obviously the love has over all that disappeared.

But I am beside myself doing the divorce calculator, according to that I have to pay him 750£ maintenance per month - does anybody know for how long I would have to do that? we were married 2 years.

Also: I have to share my assets (house and pension) to which he never contributed, and which I had long before I ever met him. Its 51000£.
Do I really have to pay that? he never did a thing for that.
And

Do I have to pay the 51000£ plus the maintenance
or either the one or the other.

thank you
unsure me

Let me assure you, you aren't the first to be freaked out by that calculator. I have said it before, and will do so again, computers do not have one basic characteristic, called common sense.

Let me also assure you the situation you describe is quite frequently encountered on wiki the other way round !

The issue for me is why your husband doesn't work. Is there is a valid reason why not ? He cannot expect to sit on his **** and let you support him.

I assume you have no dependent children and what I say is on this basis. You might have to pay him maintenance for a short time, perhaps six months, to keep the wolf from the door while he looks for work. As for capital, he might get a fairly small sum, but for a marriage this short I can't see it being more. And I would say that's about all he deserves. As I said, computers can't think.

Hope that makes you feel better. If I have brightened someone's day, perhaps my continued existence is not altogether pointless.

Mike

Awww Mike - you brighten my day often .

Unsureme - to put it bluntly, the calc can be pants sometimes.

If you post the details required here:

www.wikivorce.com/divorce/Divorce-Forum/...G-IN-THIS-FORUM.html

the nice kind wiki peeps will give you a human answer.

Amanda

Thank you Mike,
it makes me a little better to think I would 'only' have to pay for 6 months.
Do you know where I could find out more, for how long I would have to pay?

The reason why he is not working, is that he is studying for about 20 hours a week - when I studied I worked about 40-60hours a week.
But he just tells me I am 'nagging' to get out there and work it 'stresses' him my nagging and most works he does not want to do -

He lately started looking for some work of earning about 200£ - now here is an other question would that mean I would owe him less maintenance?

Re: assets: When I bought my house over 10 years ago I paid 90000£, but as we all know prices have gone up and its now worth 280000£ he has not paid anything for it no mortgage not rent... I am still paying for the mortgage. But the calculator showed that including my pension and life-insurance, that I would have to pay him 51000£ - so basically 2 years of marriage earned him lazying around, and me having to sell the house and move into a flat -
do you have any more info - or where I could get it - on the assets question?
thank you

unsure me

I'm afraid I am not the Oracle ( which was always wrong anyway ) . In a situation where a couple split up, one spouse is working but the other is not, that spouse is normally expected to take steps to obtain employment.
The Courts will usually allow a fixed period of maintenance as a bridge to self sufficiency. How long it is depends on the facts each case. If one spouse was a medical student with two years to go to qualification, then two years might be appropriate. It may be reasonable to expect your husband to work part time and yes, that would reduce your SM. What is a virtual certainty is that, if there is no good reason why your husband can't work, you won't have to pay him maintenance for more than a clearly defined period. Sorry, I don't want to go further than that. This is the principle and how it applies to you is something you need to work out.

As to assets, the law is notoriously uncertain as to how to treat short marriages. If I were arguing for your husband I would cite the famous ( or imfamous depending on your point of view ) case of Miller v Miller where the wife got £5 million for a shortish marriage between 4-5 years on the basis that the husband's shares had increased in value while these two were joined in holy matrimony. Not all that much different from your situation. I would also quote Lord Nicholls who said that the wife has a claim to a share in the marital home even for a short marriage - you can google the judgment and read it if you don't mind risking being bored to death.

But against that, his contribution seems to be virtually nil, or even negative. You provided the house in the first place, you paid the mortgage, you supported him,
he did **** all, and it seems to be wrong in principle that he should get more than a small allowance to buy some basic necessities for a flat of his own. On a personal level, I prefer the latter view, but you can't treat men differently from women, now, can you ? Well you certainly can't treat women differently from men before someone descends on your head from a great height.

So there are arguments both ways and it's no help for me to say it may depend which judge you get. He wouldn't get much if I were the judge, except possibly a few well chosen words.

Mike

Thank you Mike,
I somewhat find it strange to think in life people can be lazy and be supported and get away with that. I still believe in a higher power who might provide eventually some justice.

I guess my advice to everyone who is thinking of getting married:
read up on divorce law first!

all the best

unsure me

Hello UnsureMe. I am in a very similar situation. I would be very interested in finding out how things work out? Thanks.