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Spousal Maintenance, Scotland

If your relationship ends in separation or divorce, one of you may need to pay spousal maintenance.

This is also known as periodical allowances, spousal support, or aliment. A partner can apply for spousal maintenance if the separation will lead to a dramatic change in the standard of living or if they require monthly payments to meet their necessary expenditure.

Divorce and separation solicitors at Jones Whyte will be able to help you apply for spousal maintenance, and ensure that your needs are recognised by the courts.

Applying for spousal maintenance

Spousal maintenance following divorce is rarely awarded by the courts in Scotland. This is because the courts tend to apply a clean break principle when a relationship ends. Assets will be divided instead.

However, spousal maintenance may be awarded if there are insufficient assets to be divided or if the share doesn’t meet your needs.

If you are applying for spousal maintenance, separation lawyers from Jones Whyte will be able to help you get the payouts you need.

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Calculating spousal maintenance

Our solicitors aim to ensure you get the spousal maintenance payments you need. However, there is no set formula for calculating this.

The calculation has to take into account what the payer can afford, as well as what the payee needs. The amount of spousal maintenance can depend on:

How much you may need to live on.
Your current income.
Potential future earnings.
Your standard of living during the relationship.
How many children you have and their welfare.

Other restrictions may be included as part of the spousal maintenance order. Our lawyers for separation will be able to discuss these with you.

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Time-limited spousal maintenance

Spousal maintenance prior to divorce is properly called spousal aliment and can only continue until divorce is granted. However, on occasions, it is still possible to obtain payments after divorce, properly called Periodical Allowance. Payment of Periodical Allowance is rare because the court adopts a clean break approach. However, the possibility of such payments is sometimes overlooked.

At Jones Whyte, our family law lawyers will go through all the options for spousal maintenance with you and ensure you get the payment you require.

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