Ex partner trying to take money from me

InvalidUsername

Hi,
New to the forum :-)
I've been seeking answers to this but find it all daunting.
This is my situation:

I was with my ex partner for almost 7 years. We had a joint mortgage on the house we lived in for just over 4 years, the house is not in the UK, but it is in the EA (not EU.)

When we split, he forced me into selling my share of the property to him & we agreed on a price which is equivalent to around £15,000. He then forced my hand & I was left with no choice but to immigrate back to the UK, he stayed there and settled down very quickly with a new fiancee.

All the paperwork has gone through and my name is no longer on the deeds to the house, & it's also been removed from any loans associated, so everything is in his sole name now, I'm just waiting for him to transfer the funds over.

Here's the kicker:
Whilst we were together, he leased a new car which is solely and entirely in his name only. He has emailed me to say that from the money he's giving me, he will be taking half of the amount of the deposit from the car. He was going to return the vehicle but has since decided to keep it for his own leisure pursuits.
There is also a credit card bill which he wants me to pay half of, even though the credit card is in his name alone, some of the transactions include items he bought for his work & he claimed the money back for it.
Basically, before he sends the money over to me, he wants to deduct the equivalent of £3,000 to cover the above mentioned things.
I have told him I do not agree to any of it.
He then gave me a choice and told me it was that, or he will penalise me for half of the mortgage payments from the day I left up until the day my name was removed, which equates to around £4,800! I still said I do not agree to him just taking money from me like this, but if I was him, I would consider only taking the smallest amount, however, I have not given permission for him to take.

I would like to know if he is allowed to take this kind of action.
Also, he has threatened to inform the tax office of the money he's sending, which by the end of this will equate to just over £10,000. I intended to place the money in a tax-free ISA. From what investigations I've done, the money is not classed as tax deductible for income tax, neither is it capital gains (might possibly be actually - but the house was de-valued) so this, to me, seems more of a monetary 'gift' for want of a better term.

He's desperately trying to punish me financially and I'm pretty sure he can't just deduct what he fancies willy-nilly.

I know he will be taking from, he calls it deducting, I call it stealing.

Can anybody tell me what my rights are on this please?

If you need any further information, please ask me. I hope I explained it all well :-)

FatVonD

I've no idea about your position legally but if you've already had your name taken off everything I'd take the money quick before he decides he's not giving you anything at all.

BitterAndTwisted

YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHTS.

Well, not unless you want to fly back and fight it out with him using the local legal process. He's got you over a barrel and you'll be lucky to see a penny.

Gift-horse. Mouth.

InvalidUsername

He doesn't have a choice but to give it to me now, we signed a legal document which states the amount he's buying me out for :-)

I forgot to mention that, my bad, but yes, we have a document which was also witnessed by the Consulate and it states that I am transferring my share of ownership to his sole name & it states the price agreed. It was signed by both parties + the Consulate for that country.

So, if he doesn't send the agreed amount and just decides to make deductions for things that are in his sole name, that's surely not legal?

It's a legally binding "settlement."

BitterAndTwisted

You agreed a price for your share of relinquishing your interest in the property. Is there anything legally enforceable about what amount of money should reach your UK bank account from that share?

If he's proposing to make deductions from the amount you are owed you can be quite certain that he knows more about the legal position than you do.

You are no longer in that country so your resources are limited.

FatVonD

Did you have a solicitor? Tell your solicitor to tell his solicitor to cough up then. He shouldn't be paying the money to you directly.

If you didn't you need to weigh up whether it'll cost you more than £3,000 to get the money out of him (especially given you're now in different countries.)

I'd still take the money.

InvalidUsername

I'm not sure about the enforcement side of things but I do know the country is extremely strict when it comes to legal agreements. He knows very little indeed about anything financial, he just likes to play God with me, as he always did.

We have done this without the employment of lawyers, because I believed everything could be done in a civilised manner, especially since he's very happy with his new life & fiancee, however, he just attacks me no matter what I say.

He will be sending me a written list detailing the amount he's taking and what it's all for, but everything is in his sole name, so he's forcing me to pay for things that belong to only him. This was my point, I don't see how he can legally get away with doing that. If you think about it, if I had access to his bank account, then there would be nothing to stop me just making withdrawals any time I see fit, for my own current living expenses since the day we split up. If I tried to do that, that would be theft. In theory, he's trying to do exactly that to me.

BitterAndTwisted

You seem to have a lot of faith in the legal system of a country where you are no longer resident. You should never have left without being able to bring the money with you. He has you over a barrel now.

FatVonD

Let mim play God one last time and then you'll be free of him. Isn't it worth it to suck it up one last time knowing you'll have the last laugh?

InvalidUsername

FatVonD wrote: »

I've no idea about your position legally but if you've already had your name taken off everything I'd take the money quick before he decides he's not giving you anything at all.

Also, in that country, that's the way it has to work, no monies can change hands until the paperwork for removal has been authorised by land registry, which it now has. Hence the reason why you must state an agreed amount on the actual paperwork. Now that Land Registry has completed their part, the bank need to complete the transfer to him, which in turn, he must transfer to me.

FatVonD

InvalidUsername wrote: »

Also, in that country, that's the way it has to work, no monies can change hands until the paperwork for removal has been authorised by land registry, which it now has. Hence the reason why you must state an agreed amount on the actual paperwork. Now that Land Registry has completed their part, the bank need to complete the transfer to him, which in turn, he must transfer to me.

Good luck with that then. Btw, I love your username!