Buyout spouse before divorced - Any help appreciated

doctor-dee

Hi
My wife and I are separated (not legally) and are about to commence divorce proceedings. We haven't done anything at this stage. We have both maintained from the start that financially it should be amicable and as clean as possible, neither want things drawn out.

We have no children. We earn roughly the same. Since day 1 we have only ever done things jointly, never separate monies/accounts. We have already split cash assets 50/50 and are not interested in each other's pensions.

We have 3 houses. 2 owned jointly (as joint tenants), one of which is the marital home. The 3rd is in my wife's name only. It was her's for 6 years before we started seeing each other and bought our first house together. For the last 7 years we have jointly paid the mortgage but allowed family to live in it. I have stated that I have no ongoing interest in this property or the equity in it.

We have agreed that I shall buy my wife out of the marital home for a sum equal to half of the present equity. She will then give me a sum of money for our 2nd property (let's say that also is equal to half of the equity, although it does value it somewhat under market price).

What I would like to know is this...
I intend to buy out my wife, not with marital funds, but with a cash injection from either a friend or member of my family. The family member will then be joint tenants with me and have an equal share of the ongoing equity in the house. As this is happening before we are divorced what rights does my wife have for later coming back for a share of the house? It has all been agreed through the mortgage company and a solicitor will be used to change the names and record that it has been for financial consideration.

In my view I think I am being very fair in that I'm not seeking any equity from the 3rd property (considerable). And for this reason I don't expect there to be any about turns on what we have agreed. But, you never know. Most importantly I want to protect my relative who is investing in this with me.

I will probably consult a solicitor anyway but just to do the bare essentials. I really don't want to pay for hours of their time as we are both in agreement about how we should proceed at this stage.

I would like to switch the mortgage arrangements as soon as possible (we both do) in order that we are settled in our own houses and paying our own bills.

I would appreciate any help on this. (Polite notice) I know I should consult a solicitor to be sure, I just want to know if anyone KNOWS or has had any dealings like this before.

Thanks. David.

zzzLazyDaisy

If you are about to commence divorce proceedings, then my advice would be to write down everything you and your wife have agreed, and ask the solicitor to draw up a consent order on these terms and have it placed before the court. This will protect both you and your wife.

As far as pensions are concerned the law lays down certain pension splitting rights on divorce so it is best to have everything dealt with together so that this can be agreed as part of an overall package.

doctor-dee

Can a consent order be granted before divorce proceedings have even started? I thought you had to have a decree nisi granted before a consent order could be put through the courts?

Thanks