can he get anything back?

heretolearn_2

A relative got divorced about 5 years ago. They were both on the mortgage but for some reason he went a bit mad and signed the house over to her completely. It had quite a lot of equity in it.

Now he's in financial problems and is regretting what was a hasty decision.

Is there anything he can do now or is it too late? If it wasn't a 'clean break' divorce (he's not sure but going to check) can he go back for something? It's mainly been stirred up as his ex wife has now moved a new partner in there and his cross about them both with very good incomes (he thinks) living in a house he pretty much paid for, while he is now struggling for money. I know that's not the point, and he can't really explain why he did what he did other than 'it seemed like the right thing to do at the time'. They do have three children, and he wanted to make sure they had a home without any disruption, that's the other reason. He's since found out that other arrangements are more normal to make sure children can stay there - house not being sold until the children all pass 18 etc. He's also worked on the assumption that eventually the children would inherit the house, but someone's pointed out to him that ex-wife can leave it to anyone she wants to, such as new partner, and children could end up with nothing. With his share (assuming the house was sold when children are 18 - he doesn't want to force a sale now) he could have bought himself a flat that he would definitely leave to his children. He didn't think it through or take any independent advice at the time. He's kicking himself.

swingaloo

When he signed it over she must have taken over the mortgage and continued the payments since.

I don't think he stands a chance of claiming anything now.

dancingfairy

In a lot of situations you have 6 years to bring a claim against somebody. I'm not sure whether this would apply here but I suggest that he speaks to a solicitor urgently if this is something he is considering.
I'm surprised that you can sign over a house without a solicitor. Surely he must have had legal representation at the time and they would have counselled against it? If so then I guess it would be much harder to argue against. If not, why did he not get legal representation? I expect this to be brought up by the ex wife if he pursues this. Why now, he's waited 5 years? It sounds like jealousy, that the ex wife is moving on with her life, rather than anything else. Obviously it may not be but that is again something that might come up.
I assume a solicitor would be able to give him some idea of how easy it is to do and his chance of success but also give him an idea of timeframes and costs. It is likely to drag out and be very costly. If he is struggling right now, how is he going to pay for this? I'd be very surprised if the exwife just rolls over and doesn't fight it to be honest. Bear in mind the amount of equity that he is fighting over and that it doesn't get swalled up by solicitors fees.
df
Edit: You need to bear in mind how much equity there was 5 years ago, not necessarily now. Also 50:50 is the basic split to start with but then you also have to factor in maintenance, pensions etc etc.

fluffnutter

No point advising anything until he finds out whether it was a clean break or not.