here is no automatic entitlement for your ex to receive half of your income. Their entitlement is usually based on receiving enough to meet their monthly outgoings, taking into account their ability to generate their own income, and whether there is any surplus income available once your own reasonable monthly outgoings have been accounted for.
When the court is determining what would constitute a fair financial settlement, one of the guiding principles is sharing. Generally speaking, matrimonial assets (assets generated during the marriage) are shared, often equally. Assets which are non-matrimonial (such as assets owned before the marriage) are not shared save to the extent that it is required to meet “needs”. For this reason, terms such as “sharing” and “equality” are frequently used within divorce proceedings.
Claims against future income are treated differently. A future income, by its very definition, is an income generated after the marriage has ended so the sharing principle does not apply to it. However, the court can award spousal maintenance to the extent it is required to allow both parties to meet their outgoings using the income resources available.
How much somebody will receive and how long they will receive the payment for depends on a number of factors. The court will consider what the financially weaker party actually needs each month, referable to the standard of living enjoyed during the marriage, but with an acceptance that stretching an income over two houses is likely to make it impossible to exactly replicate the standard of living previously enjoyed. The court will also consider the available income resources, the paying party’s own reasonable income needs and whether the party receiving the maintenance can be expected to support or at least contribute towards their own income needs. The court will also consider whether it is possible for the receiving party to transition to independence so that they can support their income needs entirely from their own resources so the maintenance payments can stop.
