Marriage ended - what am I entitled to?

rachel702

My husband and I have decided to split up. We have a house together. My husband paid the deposit on the house, and since then we have paid 50/50 on everything. I am now living back with my parents and my husband has said he wants to keep the house.

I would like to know what I am entitled to as I now have no furniture etc to set up home on my own. My husband says he has no funds to give me as all his spare money wil now go into paying the mortgage alone.

However all my friends/family say I should be entitled to something as I have paid half the mortgage for the past two years.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

FATBALLZ

Probably depends how long you were married and who had what beforehand.

Also with regards to the house, have you gained any equity since buying it? If not then there doesn't seem to be an argument for you getting anything from it.

Oldernotwiser

Are you joint owners of the house and is there any equity in it?

rachel702

We've been married 2 years, and had the house for the same amount of time so not much equity to be honest.

Annisele

If the value of the house has fallen, there's an argument that you should be paying your husband, and not the other way around.

So: what is the outstanding mortgage, what is the (realistic) value of the house, and how much was the deposit?

Does your husband earn enough to take over the mortgage alone? (I mean in the lender's eyes, and not in his or in yours). If he doesn't, you might end up having to sell.

Edit: Crossposted with the OP. If there's no equity, then there's nothing to distribute - so no, I don't think your husband should have to pay you anything. If it helps, you can consider the payments you made to the mortgage as rent for that period.

FATBALLZ

House prices nationally have risen slightly over the last 2 years, so you may have gained some equity through this. Also unless you were on an interest-only mortgage, you should have gained some equity through your mortgage payments (unlikely to be much, maybe 2/3000). You should be entitled to half of these combined amounts. Obviously the equity that came from the deposit your husband put down should belong to him.

(ps I'm not legally qualified, but I'm fairly sure this is right)

rachel702

It was a £170k mortage. He paid a £32k deposit, and we have about £130k left outstanding. He can afford the payments alone although things will be tight, I doubt the Bank would think he could afford it on his on though, so I said for the mean time I would keep my name on there.

I used to work for a bank in debt management so I am aware that I am joint and severally liable if he defaults on the payments, but he is very sensible with his money and I know if he ever did come into difficulty he would sell the house.

jtr2803

rachel702 wrote: »

It was a £170k mortage. He paid a £32k deposit, and we have about £130k left outstanding. He can afford the payments alone although things will be tight, I doubt the Bank would think he could afford it on his on though, so I said for the mean time I would keep my name on there.

I used to work for a bank in debt management so I am aware that I am joint and severally liable if he defaults on the payments , but he is very sensible with his money and I know if he ever did come into difficulty he would sell the house.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

You work in debt management and are willing to risk your own credit history? Sorry but are you insane? What's to stop him refusing to pay if he can't afford it as it will be you who gets chased.

Sorry but you are now separated, time to start thinking and acting like a single person, you are not part of a couple anymore.

rachel702

What happens if the bank assesses his income and decides they will not take my name off the mortgage? Will we then have to sell?

FATBALLZ

rachel702 wrote: »

What happens if the bank assesses his income and decides they will not take my name off the mortgage? Will we then have to sell?

Yes, if you want your money. If the house is worth £170k (it may not be anymore, get it valued, not by an estate agent), and you have £130k left, and he paid a deposit of £32k, you should be entitled to £4k, ie half the equity you built up by making mortgage payments.

rachel702

I know the early repayment fee for the mortgage is 4k, so its not really worth the hassle. I will just walk away and start afresh. Thanks for all your advice everyone