Financial Seperation Agreements - Car Ownership

franwilliams77

I split up with my partner in Aug 2007 and up until now we have neglected to resolve the financial matters surrounding our seperation. Currently the only item of any value worth resolving is the ownership of a vehicle.

The car was originally bought through a joint account and was previously registered in my name; However i transferred it into my ex partners name a month ago, due to her driving it and using it to ferry our 3 kids around, just incase she racked up any speeding tickets.

However now we have come to discuss financial seperation, she is claiming that i gifted her this car, claiming that this was the reason for the registration transfer. This however was not the case. From a legal point of view would this hold any weight?

Tiger_greeneyes

I think the fact that the car is in her name will make it difficult tbh. It might well rack up a huge solicitors bill if you and your ex get into locked horns over it.

Are you in Scotland? I lived there when I had my separation agreement drawn up, it's done a bit differently in England & Wales from what I understand. It's probably best to ask a family lawyer in Scotland.

As your ex needs the car to drive your three kids around, is it not just sensible to let it go for the sake of your kids, rather than making a solicitor richer?

franwilliams77

I couldn't afford to take her to court anyway and i don't live in Scotland.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg, with regards to how i've been financial stung by the breakup of the relationship. When we were together, she got into so much debt, we had to sell our house to keep our heads above water. She used the proceeds of the sale to clear her debts off and i was left with nothing to pay off mine, however she did agree to help me pay off my debts. Obviously when we broke up, that agreement was never going to be honoured. I'm now facing all those debts, losing the value of a car having to pay £530 for kids i'm allowed to see once a fortnight. All this because, i've got a new girlfriend and moved on with my life.

Tiger_greeneyes

I'm so sorry, that's a nightmare for you. As for only seeing your kids once a fortnight, that's awful. There's never a real winner in situations like this and I hope you manage to get it sorted out soon. Are you eligible for legal aid to try to resolve the car issue and maybe get better access to your kids? It might be worth looking into. Maybe someone else will be able to give you better advice than I can. Good luck with it though

franwilliams77

It doubt it as i earn a basic of 30k+ a year, but i'll take a look anyway and see if i get some time off work to go to CAB. Thanks for your advice.

Milford_Cubicle

Perhaps forget about the car, the issue of you only seeing your kids once per fortnight is more important. If she's decided this arrangement, then I suggest you get yourself to the family court and see if you can arrange a hearing for an access order. If you do it yourself then it's much much cheaper than getting a solicitor involved. Speak to someone in the court itself, they can give you quite a lot of free advice. Not many people know about this - it's how I managed to divorce the ex- back in 2004 for not much more than £300 from start to finish.

I doubt very much you're going to have a leg to stand on regarding the car, the V5 is in her name, the insurance is in her name and if need be, she can prove it was bought from an account with her name on it. I think perhaps you made an error moving the V5 to her name - if she had gone through a camera then you'd need to prove she was driving, very easy if she actually was!
So, forget what's past and move on - getting rightful access to your children.

franwilliams77

I feel regardless of if i have a leg to stand on or not, its a case of i couldn't afford the legal representation for it anyway. I guess its my own fault for being so trusting of somebody who i believed to have some sense of decency. I feel now, your right i need to see if i can gain greater access for my children, because i'd like them to grow up with some idea of treating people fairly.