Family Law

I just wondering if someone could give me some outline advice on the scenario below. I am well aware that to diffinitively explore this, I need to see a solicitor.

Basically I am experiencing significant family difficulties, myself and my wife are married for just over 10 years, are in our early 40s and have 4 kids under 6 years of age. My wife does not work outside the home. We are still together in the family home, jointly owned but things are now very strained.

My aftertax income is about 78K and dropping, I have a contributory defined benefit pension, our house is worth very roughly 500K net (after mortgage is taken out ). We have no other properties. We have joint savings of about 100K. We have no other loans.

What is in rough terms the likely spousal support /child maintenance / pension adjustment likely to be if we split up? My wife clearly cannot work at the moment but could work part time in the medium term but probably does not want to.

I am well aware that family law is "in camera" and that there is a whole range of possible outcomes, even if someone who knows about these things could give me some rough outline/ range of possiblities in advance.

Could someone also suggest a family law lawyer in dublin city centre who might give me a picture of the likely outcomes?

Thank you in advance

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Brendan
Administrator

Point taken brendan

Barry,

Please do not take offence but to explore marital difficulties should you not first see a marriage guidance counsellor?

The aspirations and hopes of many people in the Celtic Tiger years have been dashed, sometimes irretrievably, but you and your wife are still a going concern, you have four lovely kids, your health, a full time well-paid job and a house that's well in positive equity.

All that may change to the point where one or other or both of you will not recognise yourselves and have no lives outside this divorce provces for several years at a time when your kids will need huge amounts of attention.

The last two years have been particularly difficult for us too, and while nobody said marriage was easy, they don't tell you how hard it can get.

Add to this the coming together of personal relationship and health issues in your forties, as well as the up and coming young executives making you look over your shoulder and the middle years can be hell on earth.

But they pass, and kids grow up, and become your friends and you can laugh again.

Al I'm trying to say is that you may feel you're in a bad place now, but divorce may be worse, both emotionally and financially.

If you haven't already done so and found no solace, I'd strongly recommend you see a guidance counsellor of even just discuss this at some length with a friend or two - one friend has gone through a divorce, also speak to one who hasn't, who has stuck it out - to try to foresee both sides of the story.

ONQ.

I wonder have you tried counselling. It seems a tragedy to have a break up with the young children. Quite frankly i think many couples go through difficult times in their forties and often later in life thank God that they did not break up. So i would strongly advise to try and get as much advice as you can so you will not have regrets later on.