Advice Needed - buying out a reluctant ex

BitterAndTwisted

Really, other cases are not pertinent as this one will never get to court: there's not enough equity to finance a fight even if you could raise the finance against the property in the first place. One could reasonably assume that the person in question, who's so keen to get this settled one way or another, if they could afford a legal fight in court, wouldn't be considering fighting like a dog over a bone about a share of a mere £50k.

If I were in the ex's situation and I was unhappy about impending homelessness I'd be fighting tooth-and-nail to prevent a sale and make the other person finance getting a court to enforce it out of their share.

jamesd

Thrugelmir, I read the whole decision around the time it was released. Agree that it's not as simple as the press summary or the one I gave. My view of the provable financial facts is that the end of interest for the former cohabitee here happened as soon as the mortgage money was released and that was the only reason her name was on the mortgage or at the Land registry. (shrug) A court could decide differently, if it ever ends up with one.

BitterAndTwisted, not sure how keen someone might be on that if the new cohabitees are also living in the house, as is their right. I can see some people finding it very upsetting to be living in the same house as the people in the new relationship and that might persuade some to instead want a rapid resolution. If they tried blocking that the likely result would be an occupation order compelling them to either accept it or move out. If the former cohabitee was to make it necessary to take it to court for forcing a sale, the other party may as well ask the court to decide on ownership as well, so it's not a risk free action for the person doing it. Other cases are pertinent because the Supreme Court sets the precedents for how other UK courts will rule and how solicitors will advise their clients. Red1708 has written about possibly making an offer on the house so I don't think there's a financial barrier to her and her new partner taking action even if it is a barrier for the ex. If anything it implies that the ex is in a weaker bargaining position due to her potential difficulty in paying for advice.

property.advert

This truly does not have to be so complicated but the overriding facts are that the property is worth very little and legal bills relative to available equity are very high indeed. From that position, there should be a great incentive on both sides, particularly the ex's to negotiate out a solution.

If the ex visits a solicitor, then it should be explained that the best possible outcome will be a 50% interest and a legal bill to settle. The worst case scenario is a 0% interest and a large legal bill to settle.

As the ex does not seem to have the funds to take over the mortgage, I would be inclined to make an offer of £20,000 as a walk away now settlement with a week to accept or the offer is withdrawn. That is if you have £20,000 and would accept this. If they see a solicitor, then it should be explained to them that this is more than 50% of the maximum possible and is a good bet. They don't want to take the Banker's gamble on this one !

Of course, put into the offer (written by a lawyer) that the ex has contributed little and nothing financially and may well find a judge awarding her nothing.