am separating from my wife of over 30yrs. I earn 85k (+car), she earns about 40k. Assets aside, what would be a reasonable recognition of this imbalance in incomes in terms of a lump sum payment in the settlement?
am separating from my wife of over 30yrs. I earn 85k (+car), she earns about 40k. Assets aside, what would be a reasonable recognition of this imbalance in incomes in terms of a lump sum payment in the settlement?
It's a difficult situation and I applaud you wanting to address this "reasonably".
As far as what is generally fair and reasonable; we have to assume that over the span of 30 years you have both contributed EQUALLY to the relationship - not necessarily equally financially but equal effort with her supporting your income potential
Obviously when you split you cannot split this intangible value that you will continue to benefit from so some proxy compensation is necessary.
Consider that the compensation is to address the inequity in potential (earning) opportunities going forward thus the manner of compensation may be contribution towards study/training so she can have the opportunity to increase her earning potential.
What's a reasonable figure?
Assuming no children the starting point could be half of the current difference in income (~$20k?) or between that and the going child support rates for you case assuming 1x hypothetical child ($10-$15k).
What's a reasonable duration?
The length of a degree - 3 years? So you could be looking at $30-$60k spread over 3 years.
What "discounts" to factor?
You could look at a ratio of the difference in income & assets before the relationship however after 30 years this starts to become irrelevant.
You can look at the "actual" cost & time necessary to bring her up to an equal footing.
A lump sum payment should incur an interest + opportunity cost / use of money discount.
I don't think a lawyer needs to be your first step if you can work this out reasonably between yourself - however any agreement definitely needs to be in writing to avoid possible issues.
As a yard stick if this was me I might be offering something like $40k cash/assets up front or $60k over 3 years. 30 years is a long time and I'd want to see the best outcome for the sake of both parties.
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