Deciding on a financial settlement after the breakdown of your marriage has always been difficult. It is not easy to split one household’s assets and income into two. Couples already have to make some compromises with their standard of living but with the cost of living crisis it is becoming more challenging.
How will the costs of living crisis affect me?
Couples need to decide how they are going to meet their housing needs. Rents are increasing and the properties available are becoming less. Mortgage rates have increased, adding to pressure of meeting your outgoings. If you have a fixed rate mortgage which can be transferred to a different property, who should benefit from that? Keeping the family home may no longer be an option due to the increase in living costs just for the necessities of being able to meet the mortgage, pay the gas and electric and buy food.
If you already have a financial settlement which includes spousal maintenance, this can have an effect on both the person receiving that maintenance and the person paying. The person receiving the spousal maintenance may find that it is no longer sufficient to meet their income needs, but the person paying may not be able to afford to pay them anything more if their wages haven’t increased in line with inflation.
Paying out for legal fees may be the last cost that you wish to incur but now more than ever, you are likely to benefit from having expert legal advice to ensure that you receive what you are entitled to help you to be able to move forward with your new life in a less stressful way.
By Alison Wilding
