Ladies, listen up as lawyer RAJAN CHETTIAR advises how best to determine your financial entitlements following divorce.

During divorce proceedings, the main pressure a woman faces is coping with financial insecurity. With the “man of the house” now absent, you’ll likely need to manage your family’s finances single-handedly. And if you’re a stay-at-home mum, your money situation may be even more critical.
     It’s reasonable to expect your ex-husband to financially maintain and care for his family in the same way he did prior to the breakdown of your marriage. But he may be more concerned with setting up his new home and taking care of his own financial needs! He won’t be finding it easy to balance your and your children’s needs with his. Ultimately, these issues could lead to a maintenance battle in the Family Court.
     Legally, it is your ex-husband’s duty to provide fair and reasonable maintenance for both you and your children. When assessing the quantum of maintenance to be awarded, the Court will consider a range of factors – including your financial resources and the needs of you and your children. Certainly if he earns a high income he will be expected to provide more, in comparison to someone else earning less.
     You can make claims for household expenses such as utilities and food, and also personal expenses including clothing, toiletries, transport, entertainment and medical expenses. In addition, you can claim for your child’s education, extra-curricular activities, tuition, books and stationery expenses. A list of expenses must be provided, along with receipts, to the Court by both yourself and your ex-husband. The Family Court will then consider and make an objective assessment of each expense claim. If the claim is too high, it may be reduced to a reasonable amount.
     Stay-at-home mums can expect to receive more maintenance than working mothers. If you’re a working mother you’re expected to share child support with your ex-husband. Financially-independent working women may receive nominal personal maintenance. If your ex-husband earns more than you, he’ll bear the bulk of any shared financial responsibility. If you worked during your marriage and are capable of returning to the workforce, you are expected to resume working to help meet your family’s financial needs.
     When awarding maintenance the Court will always consider maintaining your family’s lifestyle. If you enjoyed a higher-than-average standard of living and your ex-husband is a high income earner, he will need to pay higher-than-average maintenance.

Rajan Chettiar
Commissioner for Oaths, Mediator LLB (Honours), Barrister-at-law (Middle Temple), UK