Separating from my wife, no savings and effectively homeless!

sdoherty1000

Long story short, I am currently self employed but due to the economic downturn business has been dreadful over the last 12 months. My relationship has suffered and has now come to an end (For other reasons as well) and we have agreed its time for me to move out. Problem is, I have no savings and no where to live. I will be closing my business down with hmrc this week and I am currently looking for a new job. I have no idea which direction to go in, I understand from reading on the web I can seek jsa and possibly housing benefit to get me back on my feet but I have no idea how to get the ball rolling. Different places have contradicting remarks. Once I hand her the keys I will be effectively homeless and unable to pay any bonds on places to live etc. Any idea's what I should do?

Gavin83

Who owns the house?

sdoherty1000

Gavin83 wrote: »

Who owns the house?

Its 50/50 owned between me and the wife. She has 3 kids from a previous relationship and 1 with me. She has already seen a solicitor and was told the house doesnt need to be sold because kids are involved

jess1974

This is not true......I am a wife whose husband left in September last year, we have 3 children and he has just issued divorce proceedings, we own our house 50/50, he has moved out and still pays the mortgage but none of the bills, i pay all bills and feed the children.....
He is after 50% net equity of the house and is taking me to court to try to force a sale, my situation is more complicated as i invested an inheritance into the house which he is not taking into consideration.....my understanding is that if there is enough equity in the property to allow both parties to move on, then a court could order a sale....good luck xx

sdoherty1000

I have suggested we sell the house, settle any outstanding debts and divide whats left 50/50. She has said she will NOT leave the kids homeless and refuses to move into a council house. I have told her she can private rent but she again refuses to sell the house. She wont be able to buy me out either so money from the house doesnt seem an option at the minute and I need to be out asap and I dont really want to pay bonds etc on the credit card as I will just end up further into debt. What to do...what to do!

marisco_2

You need to contact a solicitor, fully explain your circumstances and take their advice on how best to proceed. When there are children involved in the breakdown of a marrriage, sometimes the family home is not sold till the youngest reaches 18, at which point any equity in the property is split between the owners. This does not happen on all occassions though.

Making yourself homeless by moving out could delay your chances of finding suitable employment, and of being able to get back on your feet. It would also not be good for your children to see you struggling. Dont just take your wifes say so on how things must be. To a certain extent she will be looking out for her own interests right now, and could be gambling on you just going along with things.

RAS

head over to www.wikidivorce.com

And at the very minimum, go see a solicitor for a half hour to understand your rights and responsibilities.

BitterAndTwisted

Don't move out of the family home until you are ready to. And that means once you have secured employment and set some savings aside to move with. She might want to see the back of you asap but if you don't have the wherewithall, you just can't. Unless you fancy park benches at this time of year....

sdoherty1000

Would the council help to home me under these circumstances? I am not after a handout just a little help until I can sort things out

kazwookie

Stay put in the house and go and see a solicitor asap

paulineb_2

sdoherty1000 wrote: »

Would the council help to home me under these circumstances? I am not after a handout just a little help until I can sort things out

They might, but a lot of areas have a lot of people seeking help and few homes which are allocated out on basis of need. You really need to get some legal advice before you leave, the very last thing I would be doing is leaving the home before you have legal advice and somewhere else to go.