Mum's divorce

ohdear_4

I wonder if anyone could help. My mum has been split from her husband for 3-4 years. He is renting a flat but we have no idea where, but it's with his lady friend. Mum has kept the house, he has kept his pension and their savings. She has made a will I have no idea what is in it, wouldn't dream of asking her. He sometimes gives her £50 or so to buy herself something new or to treat herself, they do still get on but rarely see each other and he lives 20 or so miles away we think.

Right, if she died, even though she has made a will would it all go to him regardless of what is written in the will?

Can she get a quickie type divorce even though she doesn't know his address? All his doctors records, dentist etc are all still in mum's address. Mum does want a divorce.

Can he try and claim some of the house in the divorce?

She doesn't want to pay a lot to get divorced if he can take the house etc, but she wants to leave some money to family and so he can't take it all.

thanks, hope someone can help.

us,thecat&thedebt

im no expert but i think there some sort of seperation thing were u dont get divorced just offical seperation speak to your local cab...

if your mother is retired thenshe may be entitled to legal aid?

why does his post still go there if she has no forwarding address for him then she should put them back in post box with not known at this address written on them...

divorce unfortunatly isnt quick and although she may get legal aid she will need to apply for court funding if it has to go to court...

and to my knowledge yes he can claim half the estate on a divorce he doesnt have to but can...

why is he giving her money? is it cash?

and to the will i think if you have one and it is declared at time of death then it is used rather than next of kin but not 100% sure...

maybe you need to speak to your mum about it.....

also to add if the house is in joint names then her 'will' will only decide were her half goes...
he will always own his half unless he signs it over...

hth

ohdear_4

I have spoken to mum, she has asked me to find out some info. He gives her money every now and again just to help her out, they will often have a day out and he will buy her a coat or something.
She isn't entitled to legal aid.
He doesn't get much post go to her address, just doctors and dentist stuff. He phones her or calls in once a week to a month to just see her. To be honest she wants to cut all ties but daren't in case he tries to get half the house. But if that is the case she can then get half his pension? they have a sort of agreement I suppose, she keeps the house, he keeps the pension. The house is just in mum's name.

us,thecat&thedebt

if the house is just in her name i dont think he can touch it?

if her will states that the house goes to say--- you then it goes to you...

if they divorce i dont know what claim he has...

spose it depend on

how long they lived together
what is contribution to the household was ie- did he ever pay mortage c/tax ect...
what other assests there are...

all seems pretty wierd to me.. if he lives with someone else then they need to live seperate lives?


maybe pop down to your local cab for some free advice

Mandles

I think she could get a quick divorce (6 months) as they have been seperated so long http://www.terry.co.uk/divorce1.html . Ive posted a thread as i am in a slightly different situation.It may be in your own interest to help mum pay for divorce if you are her last kin . Maybe say that if he and his new lady friend have debts and anything happens to him your mum may have to pay them! unsure but may be so if they are still legally married.

Bossyboots

Okay, lets set down some facts.

Firstly, you are only responsible for debts in your own name, even if you are married to the person who runs them up. There is therefore no liability on the OP's mum to meet any debts run up by the husband and his new lady friend.

It is possible to get a divorce, with everyone's cooperation, in three months, particularly using the grounds of separation with consent. However in practical terms (because of postal and court delays) it would be unrealistic to expect less than four months. The difficulty here is the lack of an address. You need an address for serving the petition but as they are in touch, this is not insurmountable. If he has a friend or relative who is prepared to have the papers sent to them, then that address can be used on the basis that there is a reasonable expectation he will receive the papers.

But, aside from the actual timing it is imperative that the divorce is not finalised before a court order is completed (hopefully a consent order rather than following court proceedings). This will ensure that neither party can make a claim against the other for financial relief in the future.

He is legally entitled to claim a share in the house, just as mum is entitled to make a claim against any property he has and his pension. The point of a financial order is to negotiate the position and agree a fair settlement. After this length of time of separation, it is unlikely he would be successful on a property claim and on that basis you would expect mum to forgo her claim to his pension but it really is only with the benefit of proper legal advice with an advisor in possession of all the facts and financial details, that this can be worked out. It is of course entirely up to the parties to agree something other than what is advised by a solicitor. If both are happy to forgo any claims and just move on from here with what they have, then that is what an order will state and neither will claim from the other. After this period of separation and with each having moved on with their lives, that would seem the most sensible way of doing it.

As far as the will goes, this should be drafted to take account of their separation and any subsequent divorce. If it does not then the position could be precarious as, in general, you cannot leave your spouse out of a will. It would need to contain clauses explaining why this has been done if that is the case. If she made the will after separation and was properly advised, then she should be covered. I understand the reticence to discuss the contents but it would be appropriate to raise with her whether the will took into account the fact that she was separated. After all, surely she would rather know it was correct than risk her hubby inheriting against her wishes later on.

Mandles

I thought that if dad ran up debts as house may still be in his and mums name that the mum was living in that it would be taken out of the money from that if he died.Am i wrong then?? Also ive had 2 friends divorce recently and both divorces took about 6 months to be finalised and this is what the solicitor told my cousin 3 weeks ago as they are seperated.

Bossyboots

Mandles wrote:

I thought that if dad ran up debts as house may still be in his and mums name that the mum was living in that it would be taken out of the money from that if he died.Am i wrong then??

The OP states that the house in her mum's sole name and my answer related to that scenario.

If the house had been in joint names then it would form assets upon which debts could be claimed and not necessarily only after he died. It could only be set against his share of the property too so on the basic presumption of equality if the debts were of a value of more than 50% of the equity in the property then they could not claim it all back from that source. The wife's share would be safe as the debts would not be her responsibility (unless they were in joint names) but of course the debtor may apply for an order for sale to recover their money.