What are my rights in this messy seperation?

Deep_Ocean

Got2change wrote: »

1) If you have an issue with the Solicitor - there is a prcess for complaints via the Law Society - check out their website.

2) I doubt very much that your good natured handing over of various sums of money will be taken into account (sadly) but you would be wise to keep an absolute record of everything - with written evidence if possible.

You do need to focus on the property (and I understand that you let the divcorce go through without dealing with the ancilliary matters; I did it too - and got royally shafted).

You should be able to get a fixed fee first half hour type meeting with a local solicitor who handles matrimonial cases - ring them direct and don't bother with CAB - it would take weeks to even get an answer on the phone.

Your situation is of course not helped in the present economic climate as even with the best will in the world, demanding a sale (which you probably can) doesn't mean that it will sell or for the value that you may place on it. Preferred option would be for her to buy you out based on a fair valuation and with mortgage payments made/rent for living on the property taken into account (in all likelihood one will cancel out the other - the fact that she has paid the full mortgage renders her not needing to pay you any rent for living in your half as you - rightly so - haven't been paying half the mortgage.....).

You are right to say that (talk of) booting out her boyfriend, changing locks, you moving in would all get silly - so best to stop tormenting yourself with thought of that and focus on damage limitation.

(Take it from someone who knows)

You talk a lot of sense, thanks

Would it make any difference if was to do a balance transfer from my current high interest credit card to a card with 0%. At the moment my card is addressed to the marrital home and I have statements dated from when we were still married and living together. I am worried about changing credit card in case it damages any chance of getting half back.

I am worried about getting another solicitor due to the cost, (is it worth it) if im arguing over a £2000 credit card bill i'd end up losing out on the half with court fess. We'l probably use the same solicitor in selling the house when/if we get an offer. As we are already divorced i'd like to avoid using a solicitor if it doesnt weaken my case and i dont make things worse. I suppose I will probably have to accept the fact that credit card is now my debt and pay it off, and just hope that the house sells. At worst I will still be entitled to 50% of the property but will have to tkae into account what she has paid off the motgage since I stopped my payments. I'll still walk away with something eventually.

Deep_Ocean

**Patty** wrote: »

Oh and by the way, she has to payback the credit card debts because they are the married debt, anything she runs up since you have moved is also her responability.[/quote]

I'm just going to pick up on the bit I've placed in bold.

That is wrong.

The principal cardholder (in this case the OP has said the one & only card is in his name) is the ONLY one responsible for the debt.
It bears no relevance as to what was bought/paid for or by whom. The cold fact is it's the OP's card and he is legally responsible for that debt.*

Does anybody have any good news to tell me :rotfl:

Rikki

Deep_Ocean wrote: »

Does anybody have any good news to tell me :rotfl:

Your no longer married to her.

Any good?



I think you should get some legal advice to find the best way forward. Check in the local paper and see which solicitors are offering free initial consultation. Or try the CAB for free advice.

Deep_Ocean

Rikki wrote: »

Your no longer married to her.

Any good?



I think you should get some legal advice to find the best way forward. Check in the local paper and see which solicitors are offering free initial consultation. Or try the CAB for free advice.

Haha yeah i'l take it lol :cool:

SandC

Well the credit card debt is yours and I would start to make payments on it and alert them to change of address. I don't think you will get anywhere adding this as part of the marital finances. Unfortunately, it doesn't really matter what you spent it on.

So far as the house goes, well the good news is that her new partner has absolutely no rights to any or part of the house. You have no obligation over providing a roof over her and her child's head as it isn't your child. You need to get tough on this. You do need some legal advice. You could issue the threat of moving back in and you are legally entitled to do so. As you were only married for two years it basically boils down to a court will probably award whatever each party came to the marriage with. Sensibly, selling the house and cutting any profits 50/50 would be the ideal way to go. Perhaps suggest that they as a couple buy you out?

Got2change

With regard to the CC balance transfer - I think that it may be in your best interest financially to do the balance trasfer. It SHOULDN'T weaken your case if you are going to try to reclaim some from her - just keep all the previous records safe. (You must suspect though that the chances of reclaiming anything from are about as good as that of the proverbial snowball.... and it is with that in mind that I say yes, make the transfer; it's about what happens from now on that matters and part of that is minimising your outgoings, am I right?)

I understand your reluctance to employ (and yes, that IS what you would be doing) a Solicitor - but the fixed-fee-initial-interview time could just be used for information gathering. I have to say though that you are likely to need some legal clout with this house issue. It is going to be hard to sort out yourself as emotions are bound to come into play and whilst your resentment is understandable, you are not likely to be cold and calculating when you get angry. Have you checked out your entitlement to Legal Aid (I'm sorry, I can't remember the rules....) but anyway, it still has to be repaid but it does mean that the Solicitor bills at a lower hourly rate.

You should look into getting your name of the mortgage pronto (sorry, I don't want to lose my post if I scroll back), if you haven't already. There is nothing to stop you putting pressure on the Estate Agent from a distance - but again, the sale is going to be affected by the ****ing credit crunch never mind the time of year.

There are two ways of looking at this -
You have a sum of money (dangerously "invested") that you will get some time in the future but you don't know when and with that old disclaimer that investment can go down as well as up. A solicitor would possibly advise getting a charge against the property but I'm not sure if that's only when kids are involved...... Nevertheless, such an action would have to be combined (goodness knows how) with removing your financial liability, which seems a bit of a paradox to me. Because in order to really protect your "investment" you should actually pay towards the mortgage (!!!!!). I know, it a real ****er.

But that seems the lesser of two evils when you think that not doing the above is you effectively waiting until someone else is good and ready for you to have the money - which I know is (understandably) the main issue. Meantime, your investment is dwindling faster than the previously mentioned snowball in hell.......

You need to untangle as much as you can my friend. Not likely I'm sure but whilstever you are connected, she can take you down with her (I take it there is no longer a secondary card on the CC account.....?), as in bankruptcy. She doesn't sound like the most careful person with money.

Have a think, see a "free" solicitor and consider what the priority is for you. To repeat myself, if there is any way, I would push for her buying you out and that is what I would focus on in any meeting with a solicitor. (oo - just thought - google Communty Legal Services.....)

**Patty**

Deep_Ocean wrote: »

Does anybody have any good news to tell me :rotfl:

:rotfl: Off the top of my head (and me lunch is ready) this is the best i can do:

1. Contact the CC provider and explain that you wish to make arrangements to pay the card off (tell them it's following a divorce) . The DFW board will be able to help you write that letter. Also ask if they can freeze the interest, if not than switch to a 0% card (if you can) & start paying it regularly.

2. the good news is......since it's the joint account that has an overdraft, she IS liable for half of that overdraft.:T The bank will ask you both to pay it but beware......if you earn more than she does or she quits her job...they will come to you to pay it in full.

3. Look for a solicitor that does the free 20/30 mins interview (try yellow pages) Make a list of questions before you go & find out exactly what your legal position is with regards to the house.

Got2change

Deep_Ocean wrote: »

We accumulated £2,000 worth of debt on a credit card whilst we were together. This is being paid by our joint accounts overdraft as a direct debit. It was a 0% credit card but now we are paying very high interest rates on it. Neither of us are puttin money into our joint account and so we are £200+ overdrawn. The credit card is soley in my name.

Oh and -

Just re-read your first post - you need to try and get this sorted out too.
(Again, apologies if you've aldready done anyting.)

Confirm with the bank that you are divorced (you may need copies of decree absolute or some such....) and close the account if they will let you. If not, cease all activity on it and open a new acount just for yourself with a standing order to your old account/bank to make a dent in the overdraft.

Idiophreak

Deep_Ocean wrote: »

What would you guys do in my position???????

Tbh, I think I'm a lone here, but for what it's worth:

I'd take a deep breath, a step back, then try and get a line drawn under it, ASAP.

Talk to the ex, tell her you'll take (say) 5k to call the whole thing settled, leave her in peace and move on. She takes all the CC debt, keeps the house and that's that. She gets a loan for the 5k, sorts that out with the bank. She might not want to do it, but life's like that sometimes, I'm sure you didn't want any of this.

Once you get the 5k and they've shifted the CC debt onto cards in their names, change the name on the deeds and that's job done.

Personally, I'd also think carefully about *how much* you really need the money. Sure, it'd be nice to help with uni, but if you can do without it (have you managed to save much living at home the last year?), I'd be tempted to just forget about it. You're still young, you've got plenty of time to make it up and a lot of people come out of marriages a lot worse off than you are at the moment. Sometimes it's worth taking a financial hit for a quiet life and a bit of closure.

Deep_Ocean

Thank all of you for your opinions and advice. i have wrote to CAB in an email and I will seek legal advice off them if I can. Thanks all of you. Cheers