Divorce advice needed please

charlesh

Before I get into the details, I will be consulting a solicitor very shortly, but in the meantime I guess I would like some reassurance as things have taken a dive for the for worse.

My wife and I of 3.5 yrs are separating. Initially things were as amicable as can be in this situation, and my wife was happy to split our main asset (house) on the following basis:

Value: £297,000
Mortgage: £136,000

Cash put into house purchase by me from previous house sale: £127,000
Cash put into house purchase by my wife: £0

Hence "profit" of £34,000 approx, to be split two ways is £17k each. The house is in joint names.

These figures came together a week ago once we got the house valued. Now she tells me that the £17k is not a reasonable figure to walk away with, but she can't tell me right now what a reasonable figure would be. She's going to get legal advice, hopefully to confirm her view that she's entitled to 50% of the equity as the house is in joint names.

From other posts on this site I'm not sure this would be the case. We have no dependants to worry about and our salaries are approximately the same.

Can anyone confirm/dispell the idea of 50% entitlement?

Thanks.

Lady_S

Did you have anything drawn up to confirm that you put the deposit in, is there any way you can prove it?
Do you have children?

50% is usually a starting point, but, it depends on the individual circumstances very much

hobo28

The most important question is do you have children?

If so, your in trouble. My current partner has 2 kids from a previous relationship. Her ex husband put in 100% of the house capital, they were married for 2.5 years and she walked away with just under 30%. From memory, her solicitor said that if she didn't have children, she'd unlikely to have got much given the length of the marriage.

Obviously each case is different but a solicitor will be able to give you proper advice.

Mr_Proctalgia

You need legal advice as you have what I think is termed a "short marriage" so ought to get out what was put in, as stated it depends on children and their needs.

HTH

charlesh

Thanks for the replies so far.

We have no children, and the legal documents from my previous house sale and the purchase of our current home show that the equity in my old house went into the new one.

Does anyone know the duration of a "short marriage"?

Thanks again.

Mr_Proctalgia

Generally 5 Years If I remember correctly

HTH

Benny24

think you may need proof the £127,000 was put in by you. Did you have an agreement when you married about the money?
50-50 split is reasonable, considering she came to the marriage with nothing. Where does she think the "extra" money is going to come from if it's done 50-50?

On the other hand you may find the £161,000 will have to be split down the middle.

Mrs_Optimist

Did she pay half of the mortgage? Did she contribute towards repairs/decorations that helped the house increase in value? Did she contribute towards the running costs of the house? If not then she has a cheek, BUT, in her position whilst I wouldn't want the initial deposit that wasn't mine, I would be fighting tooth and nail for any equity raised as a result of house rises, I would want to try and get back on the property ladder and 17k wouldn't get very far. In the circumstances, I would just try to walk away with your initial contribution and anything over and above that (ie any equity raised) that you can claim off her, grab it and be thankful for. It sounds like you may get stung to hand over half of your initial deposit if you spend too long arguing - or lose a chunk of it on solicitors fees. Why the reason for the breakdown of the marriage? This may help explain her sudden change of heart.

NAR

charlesh wrote:

Thanks for the replies so far.

We have no children, and the legal documents from my previous house sale and the purchase of our current home show that the equity in my old house went into the new one.

I think you are on fairly sound ground with the split of £34k. Can't see grounds for much more being awarded.