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Whether you need financial support after divorce or are worried about payments to your former spouse, our experienced family law solicitors can explain your position and the options open to you.
Taylor Rose advises on spousal maintenance as part of divorce financial settlements, including the amount and duration of payments, disputed claims and alternatives such as clean break agreements.
With specialist family lawyers across England and Wales, including a strong London presence, we offer practical advice, competitive fees and a focus on achieving fair settlements without unnecessary litigation.
There is no fixed formula or percentage. Each case turns on needs, income and resources.
Orders can be for a fixed term or, less commonly now, joint lives.
Maintenance ends on the death of either party or the recipient's remarriage.
It is not taxable for the recipient, and the payer gets no tax relief.
A court-approved order is far easier to enforce than an informal agreement.
We represent both those seeking maintenance and those being asked to pay. Our services and experience include:
Claiming spousal maintenance - assessing entitlement, preparing financial evidence and pursuing appropriate support.
Defending maintenance claims - testing the budget, the disputed expenditure and the assumptions behind a claim.
Negotiating maintenance agreements - agreeing payment levels, duration and arrangements for changing circumstances.
Temporary maintenance - seeking or defending maintenance pending suit during divorce proceedings, and legal services funding where one party cannot afford representation.
Varying or ending maintenance - applying to reduce, increase, extend or discharge existing orders.
Enforcing maintenance orders - recovering unpaid maintenance and arrears.
Clean break settlements - considering lump sums or alternative capital arrangements to avoid ongoing payments.
We advise on maintenance alongside property, pensions, business interests and the wider divorce financial settlement.
We offer:
Specialist experience - advising on maintenance claims and complex divorce financial arrangements.
Strong financial analysis - examining disclosure, expenditure and evidence to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each position.
Negotiation expertise - developing realistic proposals and resolving disputes without unnecessary proceedings.
Wider legal support - access to corporate and property specialists where businesses or other assets complicate a settlement.
Proportionate costs - assessing whether the likely benefit of pursuing a particular outcome justifies the expense.
Maintenance disputes frequently turn on the quality of the evidence and the realism of the parties' proposals..
We assess the likely court outcome and use that analysis to negotiate from an informed position.
Where an agreement is reached, we can prepare the financial consent order and supporting statement (Form D81) for court approval. If negotiations fail, we advise on financial remedy proceedings and represent clients in court. Most cases begin with a mediation information and assessment meeting (MIAM) unless an exemption applies.
Our emphasis is on obtaining a workable settlement, not prolonging a dispute over payments where the potential benefit is outweighed by legal costs.
Our fees are competitive for experienced, specialist family solicitors.
Work is generally charged on an hourly basis, with rates depending on the lawyer's experience and the complexity of the matter.
Costs will vary according to whether you require initial advice, negotiations, preparation of a consent order or representation in contested proceedings.
We explain our charging arrangements at the outset and aim to provide estimates for each stage, including advice on the proportionality of further action.
Taylor Rose has nearly 20 offices across England and Wales, including eight in London.
We also have a major office in Peterborough and offices across the South East and other parts of England and Wales.
We can advise and represent clients remotely as well as through our offices, matching you with a suitable family solicitor according to your circumstances and the expertise required.
Whether you are seeking maintenance, facing a claim or need to change an existing arrangement, our family law solicitors can assess your position and advise on the most appropriate way forward.
Contact Taylor Rose to discuss your circumstances, your options and the likely costs of legal assistance.
Understanding spousal maintenance
Duration of spousal maintenance
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Partner and Head of Family and Divorce
Highly experienced family lawyer who has drafted and advised a large number of clients on prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements.
We have a mix of employed lawyers and highly experienced Consultants. The lawyers below may not be all lawyers offering this service. You can find other Consultants who specialise in this area of law by using the search function below.
Maintenance may be ordered for a fixed period or, where appropriate, on a joint lives basis.
Fixed-term payments may allow the recipient time to return to work or become financially independent. The court can bar any extension of a term order under section 28(1A) of the 1973 Act, in which case it cannot later be extended. Joint lives maintenance may be appropriate where independence is unlikely, although these orders can subsequently be varied or discharged.
Under section 25A, the court must consider whether financial obligations can reasonably be brought to an end, and may order a deferred clean break. Age, health, childcare responsibilities and earning prospects will influence the duration. Maintenance ends automatically on the death of either party or the recipient's remarriage.
Spousal maintenance is not taxable income for the recipient, and the payer receives no tax relief.
Future maintenance can sometimes be converted into a lump sum (capitalised) so that the parties can achieve a clean break. We can advise on whether this suits you.
Spousal maintenance is financial support paid by one spouse or former spouse to the other, usually monthly. Similar provision is available following the dissolution of a civil partnership under Schedule 5 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
It may be appropriate where one person cannot meet their reasonable living expenses independently and the other has sufficient resources to contribute. This can arise following a career break, a substantial difference in earnings, ill health or a long period of financial dependency.
Maintenance is not automatic, and the court will consider whether financial independence is realistically achievable.
There is no fixed formula or percentage of salary for spousal maintenance in England and Wales.
Under section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the court considers factors including income, earning capacity, resources, reasonable needs, the length of the marriage and responsibilities towards children.
The standard of living during the marriage is relevant, although maintaining two households may mean neither party can afford the previous lifestyle. The courts now focus on meeting needs and encouraging independence rather than awarding maintenance for life as a matter of course.
The amount ultimately depends on the evidence of reasonable expenditure, available income and what the paying spouse can afford.
Yes. Employment does not prevent a claim if your earnings are insufficient to meet reasonable needs and your former spouse has the resources to contribute.
Possibly, although long-term maintenance may be less likely, particularly where both parties can support themselves. Awards are usually for a short, fixed term, and the court may recognise career sacrifices. The circumstances of the marriage and any dependent children remain relevant.
Yes. You may be able to apply for maintenance pending suit (interim maintenance for civil partnerships) to meet reasonable living expenses while proceedings continue, particularly if financial support has stopped following separation. If you cannot afford legal representation, the court can make a legal services payment order.
If payments are required by a court order, you can seek enforcement and recovery of arrears.
Depending on the circumstances, options may include attachment of earnings, third party debt orders, charging orders, warrants of control and judgment summons. Arrears older than 12 months generally need the court's permission to enforce, so act promptly.
Our solicitors can assess the arrears, investigate the available options and seek payment through negotiation or court proceedings.
If payments were agreed informally rather than ordered by the court, enforcement may be more difficult.
Yes. A substantial change in income, employment, health or financial needs may justify an application to vary or discharge an existing order.
However, payments should not simply be stopped while an order remains in force. Legal advice should be sought promptly if an arrangement becomes unaffordable.
Not automatically. Cohabitation may affect financial needs and justify a variation, but does not itself terminate maintenance unless the order contains an applicable provision.
Maintenance payable to you under a divorce order ends when you remarry, and you cannot then bring a fresh maintenance claim against your former spouse. It also ends on the death of either party. Remarriage by the paying spouse does not automatically end their obligation.
Potentially, if your financial claims were never finally dealt with or were expressly kept open, and you have not remarried. A final order dismissing your claims usually prevents a later application.
Yes. Spousal maintenance supports a former spouse, while child maintenance contributes towards children's expenses and is usually calculated by the Child Maintenance Service formula. Both may be payable.
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