exh reducing child maintenance

[rednailpolish]

by exh is reducing his maintenance as he is now working part time. obviously my costs for our children do not decrease and i will have to find the shortfall. I was already paying over 50 % of their costs as his maintenance didnt cover 50% anyway. basically he gives me maintenance and i pay for everything for the children.

Is there anything I can do about this? He doesnt intend looking for more work to increase to full time....

we are currently negotiating financial settlement for our divorce. we do have financial assets, of which he will end up with the majority as I will have the house....

is there anything i can do? his payments will reduce by 200 a month, which for me is a lot to find....

[JoAlone]

I am having the same thing happen to me. He got clever and made sure his salary was reduced when it came to declaring our income in mediation, and I basically got told 'divorce means we all have to adjust our life styles'. Which meant he was free to move to another country and remarry, whilst I try to make up the shortfall (funnily enough £200) working weekends etc, making time with my daughter a challenge.

I am sorry you find yourself in this position, wish there was more advice I could offer.

One of the things I did do, was as a result of the reduction, insist he liquidate some investments to make up for the shortfall, giving us time to adjust financially. I managed to get enough for 5 months, but he we didn't have much investments to speak of and didn't have a house. I don't know if that will work. You could argue as your costs remain the same, and he is choosing to reduce his work hours, that you should have more of the financial assets to support the childrens lifestyle/basic needs. Having the house is one thing, but your children cannot eat walls and doors. Also, whereas he has to finance one persons life, you have to finance for yourself and your children, so it should be a split on those lines, rather than 50/50. Also, make sure you put into the agreement that the support must last until the children are 18, and that it will be reviewed then.

I hope you are getting legal advice, I initially didn't, but when it came to financial matters she was very helpful, and I felt on my side.

Hope that helps a little.