My ex-husband and I divorced 20 years ago. He was ordered to pay me £28 a month, which I believe is forwarded to the DWP. People tell me they’ve never heard of someone having to pay his ex-wife for the rest of her life or until she remarried. But my ex-husband is reluctant to go back to court in case his payments are increased. What’s his legal position?
Maintenance orders such as yours are very common, although it’s true to say that the courts these days will try to impose a “clean break” settlement wherever possible. Your ex-husband could go back to court for a variation of the order, but he would have to show that you were now capable of earning a living without recourse to state benefits in order to have his payments stopped. It’s quite possible they would be increased.