Is his ex entitled to a share of our new home?

JoanneC_2

I have a query and I'm in need of some advice- My boyfriend has separated from his wife but they are not yet divorced. We are going to buy a new house in about six months. When they do eventually get divorced will she have any claim on the house we have bought together?
I am putting down the deposit (about £80000), he has approx £3000 which we will use for furniture, carpets etc. So you can see why I'm worried, it's mostly my money!!!!!
They probably won't get divorced before we buy the house (she is threatening to move away with their child at the moment and my boyfriend feels that asking for a divorce now will only make matters worse) They have been to the solicitors and have agreed custody and financial matters and my boyfriend has a Deed Extract Minute of Agreement from the Registers of Scotland confirming this. As far as the financial side of things are concerned they have agreed a maintainance payment (which increases every year with the RPI), they have divided up all their assets and dealt with all their joint debt and it states in the agreement that neither party have a claim on any future financial assests e.g. my boyfriends pension etc
But you know what these agreements are like - sometimes they are not worth the paper they are written on and I'm worried that when they do eventually get divorced that she'll have some claim on the money tied up in the house even though I'll be paying the whole £80000 deposit my boyfriend will be sharing the mortgage so it'll be in joint names so maybe she'll have a claim on it!! Any advice?

arnie&caseysma!

If they have a legal separation in place which is the very first thing I would do if it was me and I separated from someone then she will have NO claim on anything that your partner has gained since that time. Legal separations can be drawn up through the respective solicitors. From what you are saying if everything has been divided up assets, debts, furniture etc then it sounds like it but ask him to make a call to his solicitor if he is not sure. If there is nothing in place then get it done PDQ!

Don't forget that once they have been separated for two years then the divorce is just a formality and costs very little.

Good luck.

Bossyboots

I don't know about Scotland but if it was England then there would be a potential for a claim. This could be the case even if they are divorced. In England it is essential to have a court order (usually drawn up in consenting terms and simply endorsed by the court) which contains a clause stating that neither will have any future claims against the other.

Unless someone knows differently in respect of Scotland, he needs to speak to his solicitor or check his agreement to see whether this prevents any further claims.

Ivrytwr3

Why don't you keep the house in your name only? The ex then cannot make a claim against. However, i would ask your partner about where the £3k is coming from, she may have claim to that.

klaatu

I was in a similar situation a few years ago (while living in England), wanting to buy a house with my new partner while still in divorce proceedings with my first wife. My solicitor strongly advised that the house should be in my partner's name only.

JoanneC_2

Thanks for all of your great advice, I'll contact a solicitor tomorrow!!

kaffsta

Hi there

I was in the same position - my boyf's divorce is taking the longest time to complete and I wanted to move out of my parents house ASAP so we agreed that I would get a flat by myself so that everything is in my name. He is registered at our flat and his ex knows we are living together (but doesn't know the circumstances). Therefore if she did dispute anything there is nothing to tie him to our property!

I would strongly advise you to get the mortgage solely in your name if you can. You don't want the thought hanging over your head that if things turn soar with the ex, then you may end up with her owning his half of your house!

I don't trust solicitors or anything written up by them as there is always a loophole and depending how cunning the ex can be, it could be found and exploited!

Good luck

AMILLIONDOLLARS

I would also think about what would happen if you split from your boyfriend yourself!! It can get very messy then. Set down with him and a solicitor to work out what would happen in this event, I don't think you'd want to give him half the house if he only contributed £3K and a couple of mortgage payments, against your 80K

Good luck

pusscat

I don't know about Scotland, but I was in the same situation in England. My solicitor advised that we bought as "tennants in common" rather than jointly. The deeds state that I own 95% of the house and DP owns 5%. That way, even if his ex wife looks to make a claim, it can only be against his 5% of the value.

In England, an ex wife can make a claim for the rest of her life (unless she remarries). This means that in theory you are never 100% safe, however, the chances on a court agreeing to any claim, go down in proprtion to the time that has lapsed. DP and I will make the share more even in a few years time.

Hope this helps, but get some legal advice - you should use a different solicitor from your partner to ensure it is YOUR best interests that are being represented.

Puss

Bossyboots

pusscat wrote:

In England, an ex wife can make a claim for the rest of her life (unless she remarries). This means that in theory you are never 100% safe, however, the chances on a court agreeing to any claim, go down in proprtion to the time that has lapsed. DP and I will make the share more even in a few years time.

That is not quite accurate. A consent order minuting the financial arrangements and containing a clause stating that neither party will claim against the other in the future will ensure that ex spouses have no recourse to claim anything in the future.

The right to claim in the future applies equally to the husband as it does to the wife, which is why it is essential for divorcing couples to secure their position by have an order approved by the Court.