separation - moving on

penejw

I'm looking for guidance.

I am separating from my partner of 20 years. We have a home together with a small mortgage.
We also have three children, one about to start university & two teenage boys.

I am the main earner and being realistic my partner can't afford to support the children financially after we separate, therefore am I being unfair to expect more than 50% from the sale of the house ?

We haven't really discussed who gets what, and want to keep it as amicable as possible, but do both agree that the relationship has run its course.

Questions

1. Can I buy him out ?
2. We are in receipt of Tax Credits, does this help ?
3. If I took out a mortgage myself are there any benefits available to me?
4. Should I rent ?
5. If I have a lump sum for a future purchase, will that affect any benefits
I may get if I rent

any advice much appreciated

karenx

the sale won't effct your tax credits but you will need to change to a single claim.
if you work and take out a mortgage then no there are no benefits to help pay for it
if you rent and have capital of more than 16k you will get no help there either.

Caz3121

The finances from divorce can be complex, the start is normally 50/50 then work from there....if one party has spent time at home raising children whilst the other builds a career, their earning potential is probably lower so they may get more of the equity.
Who payed what into the assets is not really relevant as it is a long marriage however who is going to have to house the dependent children will be
It will not just be the property that is in the pot, things like pensions also go in and it may be that someone chooses to keep their pwn pension in return for a lower share of the other assets

1. Can I buy him out ? - if you earn enough to take on a new mortgage alone to cover the existing mortgage + any agreed equity share
2. We are in receipt of Tax Credits, does this help ? When you seperate you need to close the joint claim and the person with the children will open a single claim (and the person without the children if they earn a low income for WTC)
3. If I took out a mortgage myself are there any benefits available to me? do you mean help with the mortgage? If you are dependent on this you will find it hard to get a mortgage, there are qualifying benefits that give help for mortgage interest after a period but these are aimed at non-working people
4. Should I rent ? only you can decide but that may be decided for you once you look at the equity share and mortgage available to you
5. If I have a lump sum for a future purchase, will that affect any benefits I may get if I rent Tax Credits will count the interest in excess of £300 as income, If you are claiming any assistance with rent they may ignore the lump sum for a period of 6 months if it is earmarked for another property purchase

LindsayO

juleswillem wrote: »

I'm looking for guidance.

I am separating from my partner of 20 years. We have a home together with a small mortgage.
We also have three children, one about to start university & two teenage boys.

I am the main earner and being realistic my partner can't afford to support the children financially after we separate, therefore am I being unfair to expect more than 50% from the sale of the house ?

as the man earner I take it this means you earn more than your (soon to be ex) partner. I'm not sure why earning more translates to you expecting more than 50% of the sale, not being difficult, just can't follow the reasoning behind it

to me a 50/50 split seems like the fairest way to go and has the advantage of being simple and straighforward

Caz3121

Just also realised you refer to partner - are you married? it makes a difference

kingfisherblue

Will you be paying child maintenance? This will help your partner to support the children.

penejw

Thank you all for your replies

no we are not married but have been together for more than 20 years. The reason I would ask for more than 50% of the property sale, if my partner earns very little money and wouldn't be able to contribute financially to there upbringing, therefore this would be down to me to finance. All three children would live with me

Caz3121

Homes owned in joint names – joint tenancy

If you own your home together under a joint tenancy you are deemed to own the home equally and if you split up a 50:50 share is assumed unless you specified otherwise when drawing up the agreement.

Less rights when you are not married, but no divorce costs :-)

penejw

"Will you be paying child maintenance? This will help your partner to support the children. "

The children will stay with me, my partner is a gardener/handyman and doesn't earn sufficient to pay maintenance. As the children have grown I have increased my working week from part-time to full-time.

He is not in a financial positon to support the children, it is for this reason that I think a 40/60 split on the property is reasonable as I will be responsible for all their financial needs

LindsayO

penejw wrote: »

"Will you be paying child maintenance? This will help your partner to support the children. "

The children will stay with me, my partner is a gardener/handyman and doesn't earn sufficient to pay maintenance. As the children have grown I have increased my working week from part-time to full-time.

He is not in a financial positon to support the children, it is for this reason that I think a 40/60 split on the property is reasonable as I will be responsible for all their financial needs

under your scenario the children stay with you, you have total financial responsibility for them, he pays no maintainance and you get more from the sale of the house

so in return for no longer contributing financially to the upkeep of his children he gives you more of the profit from the sale of the house

how fair this is depends on the ages of the children and hence how much it will cost to provide for them and how much money you expect to make out of the house

of course even if it seems reasonable to you in terms of the money involved, he may not see it that way, and may well feel that a 50/50 split is fairer because that would put him in a better position to be able to provide for the children

Caz3121

LindsayO wrote: »

under your scenario the children stay with you, you have total financial responsibility for them, he pays no maintainance and you get more from the sale of the house

That may be the case in a marriage but as they are not married this would only happen if he hands over some of his share. As per the post above with unmarried couples (who have not made any special Trust deed arrangements) the split is a straight 50/50.
Can you agree that you would stay in the house with the children until the youngest is 18 then sell?