Advice on division of assets in divorce

enthusiasticsaver · 17 February 2018 at 4:14PM

OK I have been reading up a bit more about this and it says inheritances can be considered as being a non-matrimonial asset.

It also says maintenance can be considered if there is a vast difference in earnings.

Has anyone who divorced had any experience of this sort of position?

I have also read that this can be sorted with mediation with it then being made into a court order which seems the most cost efficient way of doing it.

elsien · 17 February 2018 at 4:24PM

She's working full time. My brother had to pay spousal maintenance for 4 years but that was to give the ex time to retrain as she had refused to work at all during their marriage. And they had children still at school. So a little different to your sisters situation.
The exes inheritance from family was discounted but only because it came as the marriage was ending. Money gifted during the marriage was included. The house he bought prior to meeting her was still considered to be a marital asset due to the length of the marriage.

Tom99 · 17 February 2018 at 4:48PM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

She is not asking for a share of his pension yet as they are only throwing figures around and his main concern is that he has some cash to put a deposit down now on a property for him. He is now concerned that because my nephew works in London and my niece is studying there that they will not be moving out of the family home for some years yet. He wants a share now to start again. It is in his interests to sort it now whereas my sister is happy to wait until my nephew and niece have moved out and then they split the house proceeds and pensions.

My sister is not at all aware of the value of pensions and my brother in law most definitely is. He has not mentioned the pension, only the house. I am slightly concerned that not all the facts and figures are being considered as I am of the opinion that the pension is every bit as valuable as the family home. If she is giving him 10% of the equity then should he not give her a percentage of his pension? Without the figures I cannot see how they can determine a fair settlement. Also I wonder if he can split his pension now and give her the 50% pension credits on divorce I have seen mentioned and then they split the house proceeds when my niece and nephew are financially independent and the house is sold which my sister is happy to do with the split in her favour slightly to acknowledge the extra money she put into it and recognise her income as being much lower than his.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I agree, the capital value of both parties pensions needs to be taken into consideration.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]You can split pensions by applying for a pension sharing order. Say for example one party had a £20k pa pension with a capital value of £600k. If that was split 50/50 the party with the pension would then get £10k pa and the other party £300,000 to buy a pension with, either with the same company or take it elsewhere.[/FONT]

neneromanova · 17 February 2018 at 4:55PM

Where abouts in London does she live roughly and does she want to stay in that area. I'd start looking for a 3 bed house now before house prices go up any more. That way she can find a house she likes now and not worry in 10 years time when prices are more.

One way you could come about it is sell the property now, buy a house for £375+how ever much savings she has, then ask for 50% of his pension. That way everything is fair, she stays in London, gets half his pension when the time comes, and he can move into a house mortgage free now.

She wouldn't be able to claim any of his inheritance that he'll be getting anyway as that is after the marriage. Not during.

enthusiasticsaver · 17 February 2018 at 5:09PM

neneromanova wrote: »

Where abouts in London does she live roughly and does she want to stay in that area. I'd start looking for a 3 bed house now before house prices go up any more. That way she can find a house she likes now and not worry in 10 years time when prices are more.

One way you could come about it is sell the property now, buy a house for £375+how ever much savings she has, then ask for 50% of his pension. That way everything is fair, she stays in London, gets half his pension when the time comes, and he can move into a house mortgage free now.

She wouldn't be able to claim any of his inheritance that he'll be getting anyway as that is after the marriage. Not during.

She has looked but in their area (borders of Kent) even a 3 bed house is around £550k. She does not want to move areas. She can walk to work, she has lots of friends and my elderly mum and disabled brother live in the area. It is close to a station so my niece and nephew can get up to London in 20 minutes.

She also doesn't want to sell until her adult children move out and doesn't see why she should have to when she has spent so much time and money getting the house as she wanted it or they wanted rather. When it is just her she can get away with a 2 bed flat or small house and could probably get that for half the house.

Originally he said he was happy to wait until the children had left home but now that seems to be a way away he has rethought. He is willing to settle for just the 10% now as he knows she could put her hands on that from her inheritance.

The rise in house prices is irrelevant as hers will be going up as well.

I think it is a question of whether there is a clean break or whether it is best for him to accept a cash settlement now and maybe a percentage of the property when it is eventually sold and she claims 50% of his pension and he claims 50% of hers or however they split it.

Alternatively it seems to be what he is suggesting. She keeps most of the property and he keeps his pension and ignores hers.

Only when they have all the figures can they agree really.

enthusiasticsaver · 17 February 2018 at 5:15PM

Tom99 wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I agree, the capital value of both parties pensions needs to be taken into consideration.

[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]You can split pensions by applying for a pension sharing order. Say for example one party had a £20k pa pension with a capital value of £600k. If that was split 50/50 the party with the pension would then get £10k pa and the other party £300,000 to buy a pension with, either with the same company or take it elsewhere.[/FONT]

It would be a public sector pension so I think they work slightly differently? I have heard of these pension credits where they separate it and reduce the entitlement by deducting a percentage from the pension and move it into another. Not sure if it can be moved to another provider but I think that should be investigated. It would be easier with a DC pension where they could do as you say above. Share the value out and separate it. With a DB pension her share would obviously be deferred so he could continue to build up his share again.

Sambella · 17 February 2018 at 6:06PM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

OK I have been reading up a bit more about this and it says inheritances can be considered as being a non-matrimonial asset.

It also says maintenance can be considered if there is a vast difference in earnings.

Has anyone who divorced had any experience of this sort of position?

I have also read that this can be sorted with mediation with it then being made into a court order which seems the most cost efficient way of doing it.

'A recent court of Appeal case has set out some useful guidelines:

each case depends on the individual facts and circumstances
if inherited assets are transferred to joint names or used for the benefit of the couple/family, they are likely to form part of the ‘pot’ of matrimonial assets available for division by the Court'

https://www.bbc-law.co.uk/legal-news/inheritance-and-divorce/

theoretica · 17 February 2018 at 6:11PM

I agree that the pensions should be valued, and any individual savings or other assets. Full information is needed to make good decisions.

Spendless · 17 February 2018 at 6:37PM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

She also doesn't want to sell until her adult children move out and doesn't see why she should have to when she has spent so much time and money getting the house as she wanted it or they wanted rather. When it is just her she can get away with a 2 bed flat or small house and could probably get that for half the house.

With all due respect, isn't 'waiting until the adult children have left home' a little 'woolly'? It could be many years or even decades before they decide to leave. I have a friend who still lives with her Mum and she's 53!

The reason she 'has to' is because they are divorcing, not her choice I understand, but this seems to be a sticking point from the way I've read it.

Pollycat · 17 February 2018 at 8:10PM

theoretica wrote: »

I agree that the pensions should be valued, and any individual savings or other assets. Full information is needed to make good decisions.

But the OP (and probably his sister) seem to want to keep the 90% of the house but still want a share of his pension.

Advice on division of assets in divorce

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