Q. I recently found out that my husband has been cheating on me for the past two years. When I confronted him, he admitted to it. That was just before Christmas and in early January he informed me that he couldn't live without this other woman and he just walked out on me and our children to go and live with her. I don't want him back but I don't have a job so I need him to support us financially. I managed to contact him at work but he is refusing to pay the mortgage and has left me with a mountain of credit card debts that I cannot repay. What can I do?
A. The first thing you should do is consult a Solicitor. If you really do not want him back it would make sound sense for you to instigate divorce proceedings as soon as possible. At the same time, alongside the divorce proceedings, you can make an Application to the Court for a Financial Order.
Within the Application for a Financial Order, you would be able to ask the Court to grant you what is referred to as a "Maintenance Pending Suit". The purpose of this would be to try and ensure that your husband is forced to pay you Spousal Maintenance during the course of the divorce proceedings. If you were awarded Spousal Maintenance you could then use that money to pay the mortgage instalments and make payments towards your credit card debt.
Within the financial proceedings, consideration will also be given as to what should happen to any capital, income and pensions that are either jointly owned or owned by either one of you. Consideration will also be given as to what level of Child Maintenance your husband should be paying.