Separation Agreement in Scotland - watertight?

ChefBungle

Hi All,

I signed a Separation Agreement last year (signed 30th July 2010) and there is a clause in there which I would like to get varied or removed.

Basically, it was in relation to the sale price of the house. When the agreement was originally drawn up, the property market was still relatively ok in our area but that has obviously changed. The clause says that I will pay the difference between the actual sale price and £165,000.

At the time the agreement was drawn up, the house was on the market for offers over £175k, it was then reduced to a fixed price of £165k, and now the estate agent is saying it should be on the market for offers over £149k (eek!).

It is unlikely my ex-wife will willingly agree to this clause being removed, even though she is getting ALL the equity out the house anyway.

So my questions are :

1. Is there any way to challenge this clause to get it varied / removed by a court?

2. If this clause can't be removed, what would my options be for paying it/not paying it? Realistically I simply cannot afford to do this after having to change jobs 6 months ago and accept a lower salary. The actual clause itself makes absolutely no reference to timescales.

3. An old friend of mine once told me that "separation agreements are not worth the paper they're written on" - he was studying law at the time and has since unfortunately been killed in a car accident. Was he correct? Or are they 100% enforceable?

Any advice would be most welcome.

Thanks,
Bungle

minimoneysaver

Do they offer free 30min solicitor sessions in Scotland? If so, I'd take up one of those and take your agreement and new house details with you.