Following divorce in England or Wales, the question of whether you will need to pay both your mortgage and child maintenance payments will depend on various factors, including the current stage of the divorce process and what has been agreed in your divorce financial settlement. In any case, it is important to continue paying your share of the bills as usual during the divorce process (i.e. paying bills during your separation, before your divorce is finalised and a financial settlement is reached). This may include paying your share of your mortgage on the family home or covering ongoing living costs for your child. If you or your ex-partner are suffering financial stress following your separation, either of you can apply to the family court for interim spousal maintenance or child maintenance to cover any expenses.
Mortgage payments after a divorce
If you have a joint mortgage on a property (e.g. your family home) with your ex-spouse but do not yet have a legally enforceable agreement to remove either name from that mortgage, you and your ex-spouse must continue to pay your portion or half of the mortgage. As such, you can still keep your joint mortgage arrangement in place immediately after the divorce. What happens next, including whether you will need to continue paying mortgage payments following your divorce, will depend on your final settlement and what happens with the house. For example, the property may be transferred into the sole ownership of one person, sold off, and the proceeds split 50/50, or the sale of the house may be deferred until a better price can be achieved.
To remove you or your ex-spouse’s name from the mortgage, you can enter into a clean break order (whereby you will no longer have financial ties with one another). Having achieved a clean break, you will need to talk to your mortgage lender to have the name formally removed from the mortgage agreement, allowing you or your ex-spouse to become the sole owner of the property. That person will then become solely responsible for the mortgage and any payments due.
Paying child support after a divorce
After divorce, a parent who does not live with their child (called the ‘non-resident parent’) is normally expected to pay child maintenance to meet the ongoing financial needs of the child. The portion or contribution that the non-resident parent is expected to pay will depend on various factors. These may include how often and how long the child will spend time with the non-resident parent and whether they have any other children for whom they are financially responsible.
There are several ways to arrange child support/maintenance payments. Child support after divorce can be arranged through a private family-based arrangement, a legally binding agreement through the courts, or the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).
It is also important to remember that any child maintenance you pay or receive does not cover mortgage payments. Child maintenance does not cover mortgage payments because when assessing how much should be paid in the form of child maintenance, the CMS views child maintenance as separate from mortgage payments.
Does paying child maintenance affect getting a mortgage in the UK?
Getting divorced and entering into a child maintenance arrangement does not prohibit you from getting a new mortgage with a bank or building society in the UK. You can still get a new mortgage while paying child maintenance, but it may be more challenging because any potential mortgage lenders will look at your loan’s affordability, considering your income and current costs, as well as child maintenance and living costs. Affordability is key. If you can make a clear case backed up with evidence that you can comfortably cover your mortgage costs with your post-divorce income and costs (even if interest rates rise), you will have a much stronger chance of making a successful mortgage application. An experienced mortgage broker will be able to help you get a new mortgage if you pay child maintenance after your divorce has been finalised.
