Equity Split: Trying to keep it amicable!

LemonTree123

..........

mountainofdebt

How long were you married for?

BitterAndTwisted

You didn't "put him on your mortgage". You took out a new one in both names. If you're not going to share everything you have with each other, whether they are assets or debts, what is the point of getting married in the first place? If you wanted to protect what you took into the marriage in the event of a split further on down the line you had a number of options open to you, but unfortunately you didn't. Alas, these options are not available to you now.

Kindly note: that a couple who co-own a property, whether married or not cannot have one party paying "rent" to the other. It wouldn't matter if one party paid every single pound of the mortgage-payments plus all of the bills in running a home for the entire duration of the marriage or paid absolutely nothing: the assets of the marriage are owned equally by both parties.

Now, if you do think you are justified in reneging on the implicit agreement to share assets when you signed the marriage-register all you have to fall back on is appealing to his sense of generosity and good-will and absolutely nothing else.


If you were a husband asking this question my response would be exactly the same.

ALI1973

I don't think that the UK takes into account who paid for what just that when you marry all your belongings become each others, otherwise you would have many a housewife who becomes entitled to nought because she stayed home whilst the husband worked and paid all the bills.

It maybe that you physically paid the bills but that your husband paid for treats, holidays, repairs and such, therefore levelling it all out?

I am sorry that your marriage is ending, but I think all things considered a 50/50 split and no nastiness or solicitors seems a good deal.

Imp

mountainofdebt wrote: »

How long were you married for?

In the legal sense, not sure. In the traditional sence of "all that I am I give to you, all that I have I share with you", it doesn't sound like they were ever married.

burnoutbabe

i'd definately go for you getting a larger part back to cover you putting a deposit in, and then 50/50 anything over the deposit. As that would be fairly standard in a short marriage and no kids (together).

So just tell your solicitor its what you want and see what they say?

(this assumes you are both fully capable of working etc)

TBagpuss

How long were you married for? How old are you? What do you each earn?

It *isn't* the case that you each own half just because you are married.

The legal position is that any assets which either of you have are part of the 'matrimonial assets' and *can* be take into account. The court (if you can't agree) has to decide what is a fair settlement, taking into account all the relevant circumstances. This will include our respective needs, your respective financial resources, the length of the relationship etc. Contributions can be relevant but except in very short marriages it's unusual for contributions to the family home to be taken into account. The starting point is an equal split, but this can then be adjusted to take into account the issues above (and any other circumstances which the court thinks are relevant)

What other assets are there? Do either of you have pensions? If so, how are those being split? Do you earn roughly similar amounts? If not, who earns more?

I would strongly recommend that you do take some professional advice. Speaking to a solicitor doesn't mean that you can't come to an amicable settlement, it just means that you have a better idea of what is likely to be a reasonable outcome and can then negotiate based on knowledge, not speculation.

Look for a solicitor who is a member of Resolution - they will have the appropriate experience and expertise and will have signed up to a code of practice which includes seeking a resolution through non-confrontational means, so you can absolutely see a solicitor and still keep things amicable.

theoretica

Another point to consider is that the 'family' wasn't just two people - there was your daughter too. I imagine that even though she has moved out you may still wish to provide some support for her which her step father will not.

Bublin1

He sounds like a real decent man - being perfectly happy to move into your home, get on the mortgage, have his debts paid and taking half.
Girl, get yourself a solicitor and fight for what is yours.

nickj_2

Bublin1 wrote: »

He sounds like a real decent man - being perfectly happy to move into your home, get on the mortgage, have his debts paid and taking half.
Girl, get yourself a solicitor and fight for what is yours.

and pay them £1000's for soting things out , if you can't sort things out amicably then you may find the costs involved with 2 lots of solicitors may cost you more than if you sorted it out yourself

Floxxie

It doesn't have to cost £1000s. Get advise from a solicitor on what would be a fair split and you can then decide if you want to 'fight' for more.

Take a look at the Wikivorce site to get more information on what solicitors and others would think would be considered fair, although I would warn you not to use the solicitors they recommend.