Spousal maintenance

Hi there, I walked out of the marital home and a 26 yr marriage three months ago after life became intolerable (unreasonable behaviour). My wife has little income, only working about 8 hours a week, I wouldn't see her homeless or my 20yr old daughter forced into a live in relationship with her boyfriend, so after paying off the mortgage I walked out and elected to keep paying all the utility bills and give her £175 a month toward food and essentials. Now I have my own flat with utilities and clothes and food to find I am finding it a bit of a stretch, I am wondering if I have been too generous to my estranged wife. What is to little or too much? She has already proved that she is happy to just keep taking when she didn't tell me she was receiving an income from my son who had returned home (apparently broke and I thought living rent free)Where can I turn to for guidance on a sensible figure for maintenance?
She is unwilling to talk on the subject. If I lower the figure I'm seen as the mean bad guy, It seems I can't win.

Hi Telstar

There is no hard and fast rule for spousal maintenance, it depends on a lot of factors.

If you could sit down and talk with your wife could you not sort out a level of payment that works for you both. For example you say she works 8 hours a week. Could she not increase her hours?

If you can't sit down and talk you could try mediation but this is does cost money and is not legally binding.

Or you could get a solicitor which will cost even more money and will not really be a collaborative process.

Good luck!

Steve

Can I pick up one point made by Sven regarding whether or not the outsome of mediation is legally binding?

At the conclusion of a mediation, there are some mediators who produce a Separation Agreement. Once signed and witnessed, this document does form a legally binding contract. This is not to say it can't challenged, all documents can (if you've got enough money).

However, if you have started divorce proceedings, people who are not practicing solicitors are precluded from producing such a document. In which case, a memorandum can be prepared, one hopes in a form that is easy (and thus cheaper) for a solicitor to convert into the wording of a Consent Order.

So, to summarise, it is possible to have a legally binding outcome from a mediation.