Ex-wife/property advice needed

Pipx

Hi,

My partner split with his ex 3 years ago and got diverced last year. They bought a house together and used it as a second home, whilst renting the house they lived in. She put down all the deposit (100k i think). He spent a year re-building it. When they split there was £150k equity in the house which they agreed to split. he gave her £75k. The house was transferred into his sole name> She has now come back on the scene, having split up with the bloke she ran off with, demanding another 40k and talking about credit card debts in joint names that she paid off. She never mentioned these at the time of the split or divorce and my partner had no involvement in financial matters when they were together so has no idea if this is true. She is also demanding more money from the house as she put down the deposit. However he renovated the house (and put A LOT of work into it) and it was owned jointly. Me and my partner, and our newborn baby, now live in the house, and if we are forced to sell it are unable to get another mortgage due to mortgage criteria having been tightened up ( we have already tried to get another mortgage). We have no other way of paying her should she win when this goes to court (she has started court proceedings). Does anyone know if the court could force us to sell the house? Obviously this is a very worrying time for me with a newborn baby. We are meeting with a solicitor but wondered if anyone has any advice in the meantime? The ex has also been sending us abusive and threatening messages which is adding to the stress! She has also said she will put a caution on the house. Any advice appreciated.

onlyroz

How long did they live together in the house? And how does his financial contribution compare to the £100k deposit?

Pipx

They never lived together in the house, it was bought as a second home, but they never stayed in it as he spent all the time rennovating it. I think they owned it for 2 years before they split. He will have payed half the mortgage for the time they owned it jointly (all their money went into a joint bank account and mortgage was paid from there). I guess I need to work out how much the work he put into the property is worth in financial terms?

rpc

Was their a clean break order with the divorce? If so, she can go whistle for it. This is VERY important.

The abuse is a separate issue and IMHO should be reported to the police.

Pipx

No idea if there was a "clean break order", i'm not sure what this is? She petitioned for divorce - I have a copy of the form she completed and she has crossed through the Sections asking if she wishes to make an application for a financial order stating "not applicable". She also wrote "very amicable break up" under the supporting notes section which clearly shows she was happy with the arrangement at the time! My solicitor has also just advised to report abuse to police, so i will because she has threatened to come to the property and I am concerned about my baby.

fannyanna

How old is your baby, when did she split from this other man and when did she start making noise about the money?

I'm just wondering if she's trying to stir things up a bit because her life has gone a bit sour and her ex has seemingly moved on, progressed with his life and is happy.

DS4215

She might have petitioned for the divorce but was it actually complete? - Did he get a decree nisi or absolute? He should know if there is a clean break or financial agreement at the time of divorce...

Do not reply to any abusive messages, but keep a copy of them for evidence. Report them to the police if you want, but make sure if it gets to court you can show how she has been behaving...

Pipx

baby is three months. She split with her partner within last couple of weeks, which is when she started demanding money from us. there is no doubt that she is doing it to cause trouble and try to make problems for us!!
The divorce is definitley complete, we have the decree absolute.
She has even been sending messages to his friends and family telling them how much money he owes her, but all the amounts are different! I am keeping copies of everything, she has mental health problems so her threats are quite scary.
There was no financial agreement as part of the divorce - they sorted this out two years earlier when they split and he gave her the £75k.

NAR

Pipx wrote: »

There was no financial agreement as part of the divorce - they sorted this out two years earlier when they split and he gave her the £75k.

And this is where your problems will probably lie. He should have got a solicitor to draw up a financial agreement with the amounts agreed in it, as a clean break settlement.
Your solicitor will advise where you stand, but I doubt it will be what you want to hear, sorry.

rpc

Pipx wrote: »

I have a copy of the form she completed and she has crossed through the Sections asking if she wishes to make an application for a financial order stating "not applicable".

Oh dear. Unless your partner pursued one anyway, their finances probably haven't been correctly severed and both parties can return to court and make a claim on their former spouse. It may not turn out badly, but it is quite possible the settlement will go to court.

Get your OH to see a solicitor asap. It would help if he had the details of all of their finances while married and the state they were in upon divorce.

As an aside, I really don't see why the option to divorce without a financial order is permitted. It causes so much bother, it should be a mandatory step before getting the absolute IMHO.

DS4215

Does she have her own property at the moment? - you could point out to her that your OH is entitled to a share of that too...