Money and property when you divorce or separate

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Maintenance payments

The court sometimes tells the person with the higher income to make regular maintenance payments to help with the other person’s living costs.

This is called a ‘maintenance order’.

A maintenance payment can be set for:

  • a limited period of time
  • until one of you dies, marries or enters into a new civil partnership

The payment can also be changed if one of you loses your job or gets much better paid work.

Child maintenance

The court can also decide on child maintenance, but this is often arranged by the Child Maintenance Service.

Read more about making arrangements to look after children when you divorce or separate.

  1. Step 1

    You can get support or counselling to help you through the divorce process.

    1. Get support and advice from Relate
    2. Find a counsellor on Counselling Directory
  2. Step 2

  3. Step 3

  4. Step 4

  5. Step 5

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  7. Step 7

    You also have to tell other government organisations that you're getting divorced if: