Divorce Calculator Beta Test

Hey thanks for providing this - I found it simple to use and very helpful, when I've no other financial guidance as yet.

Here's the output, as you requested to help fine tune:


Divorce Calculator Output
Your Wikivorce estimate for ancillary relief is ­base­d on the following parameters:

General:
The length of the marriage was 6 years and 6 months.

Income:
The wife's net monthly income is £1000.
The husband's net monthly income is £2200.

Children:
The number of children from the marriage is 1
Child 1 stays with wife for 4 nights per week and with husband for 3 nights per week.

Wife's Monthly Outgoings:
Essential outgoings: 1550
Childcare outgoings: 90
Lifestyle outgoings: 130

Husband's Monthly Outgoings:
Essential outgoings: 1450
Childcare outgoings: 90
Lifestyle outgoings: 130

Assets:
Joint matrimonial property:
- Former Matrimonial Home valued at £300000
Total : £300000
Wife's property:
Total : £0 (Total value at marriage : £0)
Husband's property:
- Savings valued at £6000 (value at marriage : £3000)
Total : £6000 (Total value at marriage : £3000)

Processing Assets:The total value of assets you entered as joint assets was : £300000
We add to this joint pot the increase in wife's assets since marriage : £0
We add to this joint pot the increase in husband's assets since marriage : £3000
We add 10% of wife's assets (valued at marriage date) for each year of marriage, which is £0
We add 10% of husband's assets (valued at marriage date) for each year of marriage, which is £1800

The joint asset pot is: 304800
The wife's asset pot is: 0
The husband's asset pot is: 1200

Liabilities:
Joint liabilities:none
Wife's liabilities:none
Husband's liabilities:none
The net joint assets are worth : 304800
The net wife's assets are worth : 0
The net husband's assets are worth : 1200

Splitting the assets:
Next we share out the net joint assets ­base­d on factors such as:
length of marriage, relative incomes, who cares for any children.

Wife's share: 60%
Husband's share: 40%

Wife's total share of net assets is : £182880
Husband's total share of net assets is : £123120


The Wikivorce estimate for ancillary relief ­base­d on the above parameters:

Maintenance calculation ­base­d on outgoings data:

The wife has been allocated the following:
- basic (incl childcare) needs £1640
- lifestyle needs £10
A total budget allocated of £1650

The husband has been allocated the following:
- basic (incl childcare) needs £1540
- lifestyle needs £10
A total budget allocated of £1550

The husband should pay the wife maintenance of £650

Maintenance calculation ­base­d on household/childcare data:

The wife has been allocated the following:
- basic (incl childcare) needs £653
- shared contribution £640
- share of excess income £200
A total budget allocated of £1493

The husband has been allocated the following:
- basic (incl childcare) needs £627
- shared contribution £640
- share of excess income £440
A total budget allocated of £1707

The husband should pay the wife maintenance of £493

Hi
Welcome to wiki, sorry you find yourself here but welcome none the less.
The Wikivorce calculator is a fairly blunt tool and not always acurate.
Does the wife's income include any tax-credits etc that may be due once seperated ?

LB

My friend, I don't like the divorce calculator and all I can say for yours is that this calculation is not quite as ridiculous as some I have seen. The Courts tend not to work that way.

Lostboy's question is pertinent and very important. But I will usually approach situations like yours ( which are pretty typical ) in a set order.

Firstly, I will consider child support. There is no choice about this, You have to pay it and the amount is determined by statute.

So your first step is to go to the CSA website and work out what you have to pay. Basically it's 15% of your take home pay but adjusted for the fact that your child spends time with you.

Whatever figure you come up with will be an addition to her income and a deduction from yours.

Next is the house. It is basic that you must both have somewhere to live. You don't say whether there is a mortgage on the FMH. This is critical information. There is no point in letting her stay in the FMH if she can't afford it ; and on the figures you give, I'm not sure of that.

At this stage I am not sure whether you can hang on to the FMH but let us consider first lostboy's question.

If you sre separating, then her entitlement to benefits will no longer take your income into account.

So we are looking at the following possibilities :

Tax credits ( child and working )
Housing benefit ( if she needs to rent )
Council tax benefit
Child benefit
Income support/JSA ( but this depends how many hours she works )

In general the benefits system, when calculating your entitlement to benefit, will take no account of the fact that you have a legally enforceable obligation to pay maintenance to your child and/or ex wife. You will only be ordered to pay what you can afford, and if this is not sufficient, then your wife can top up her income with benefits.

If you are still on reasonable terms, I do recommend a visit to the CAB for a benefit check.

You will have to prepare and produce to the Court ( if it gets that far, which I hope for your sake it doesn't ) a list of your necessary living expenses. So will she. The Court then has to allocate to each of you a sum which is enough to enable you to meet your basic needs . There's not a lot of money sloshing about here. If you can't afford to pay she has to fall back on benefits.

This leaves the very important question of what you do with the house and before I even try and answer this you need to tell me how much equity there is.

LMM

Hi LB & LMM,

First thanks for the helpful comments - it's easy to see some figures & think 'oh that should be OK then' without knowing really how it might work ....sorry for slow reply:

1) No tax credits were included in the calculation - yes I think she would get some.

2) House is valued at £300k, with £155k mortgage (currently about £825 /month) and £145k deposit/equity. So there is a) a reasonable amount of equity but b) mortgage payments quite high.

3) I was thinking that she might afford to keep FMH but bills would be quite high (4 bedroom house). Even selling FMH it's hard to rent/ buy much for less than the mortgage payments, at least in Reading area.

4) If I ever wanted to buy somewhere to live I would probably need my share of the equity.

Thanks for your help.
V