Splitting Up

Jimbo_999

Myself and partner (not married) have discussed separating mutually for various reasons, and i have moved back to parents for the time being.

She is looking after two young children at the family home, which is on a joint mortgage with little or no equity.

Basically as she works part time but doesn't want to uproot children from schools etc, how much would she be entitled to from government (calculators i have found are a bit vague) and how much am I liable to pay for maintenance & house costs? Bearing in mind i need to find my own place asap.

monty-doggy

No one can answer that without a lot of detail.

You can use the csa calculator to work out child maintenance, it depends on how much you earn and how often you have them overnight.

You can check her benefit entitlement at https://www.entitledto.co.uk

In theory you are liable for 50% of the mortgage but if she claims mortgage support allowance then she may not expect you to pay this too. However if she fails to pay or things turn sour the bank could chase you for 100% of the mortgage payments.

You need to see if she can apply for the mortgage in her name only.

If not you are stuck until the children reach 18 or leave full time education, at which point you can force a sale.
Any missed mortgage payments will affect your credit file and prevent you buying again.

It's a crap situation, my oh is stuck in his exs mortgage and the only way we can manage it is by being very amicable and reasonable.

19lottie82

Hi OP you are legally liable to pay 20% of your take home pay for 2 children, but of course you can pay more if you can afford it. What your ex does with this is her own concern.

No one can tell you what benefits she would be entitled to, the calculators should be accurate, providing you enter the correct info.

If she does not earn enough vis pt wages, maintenance and benefits to keep the house on, she might be best to consider selling and looking for a rental.

19lottie82

As m-d has pointed out the trouble here is you have a joint mortgage and 2 kids to support. If your ex can't get the mortgage transferred into her name, but is unwilling to find other housing options, you could be tied to the property until your youngest leaves FT education, which, depending on your salary, could make it very hard for you to take on somewhere else.

Jimbo_999

Thanks all,
So am I liable for 50% mortgage plus 20% wages? Seems unclear. Or is it 20% wages, and make sure I look after the mortgage as a vested interest dependant upon how much she can pay?
p.s. she wont be able to take the mortgage on solely, i'm kind of stuck there, but at least I know where the kids are living and can see them regularly, so at this stage it isn't an issue.

Kayalana99

Jimbo_999 wrote: »

Thanks all,
So am I liable for 50% mortgage plus 20% wages? Seems unclear. Or is it 20% wages, and make sure I look after the mortgage as a vested interest dependant upon how much she can pay?
p.s. she wont be able to take the mortgage on solely, i'm kind of stuck there, but at least I know where the kids are living and can see them regularly, so at this stage it isn't an issue.

Your liable for 50% mortgage and 20% wages but if she wants to live in your house you own 50% so technically you can charge her rent. Usually if it went to court the ex is entitled to stay in the property untill the kids are 18 then the house is sold - but she will pay the mortgage full on the property and you wouldn't get any rent from her because of this.

Don't know if that changes as you aren't married. (About her staying in the house untill kids are 18 i mean legally)

DUTR

Jimbo_999 wrote: »

Thanks all,
So am I liable for 50% mortgage plus 20% wages? Seems unclear. Or is it 20% wages, and make sure I look after the mortgage as a vested interest dependant upon how much she can pay?
p.s. she wont be able to take the mortgage on solely, i'm kind of stuck there, but at least I know where the kids are living and can see them regularly, so at this stage it isn't an issue.

Hate to burst the bubble, for now it is ok, but as soon as or not long after one of you get a new partner, things can change for the worse.
Ultimately the house is best sold, as other mention up to 20% net for child support (although this may change to 15% or so gross) .

19lottie82

Ok you have a joint mortgage which means you are both liable for it, there is no your half and her half. Basically the mortgage company does not care who pays for it, as long as it gets paid.

You are not legally obliged to pay half of the mortgage if you move out, but your name is still on there, and if your ex does not pay the full amount then both of your credit ratings will be trashed.

If your ex cannot afford the mortgage herself, from her maintenance, benefits and wages, and you cannot afford to pay it on top of 20% of your wages as child maintenance! then a better long term solution would be to get rid of the house and get more realistic housing for your ex! the kids and a separate place for yourself.

However, if your ex refuses to move out and you don't want to ruin your credit rating by not paying the mortgage, things could get messy.

I hope you manage to reach an amicable solution with your ex.

AlexLK

Do you know if she is seriously looking for more work that will enable her to take on the mortgage and effectively buy you out? Unless you knew this was the case and all was amicable, I'd be putting the house on the market as quickly as possible.

Jimbo_999

Thanks guys, much appreciated responses from all.

She cant work much more as she is self employed, earning a good hourly rate, but has to look after the kids, we don't have anyone to help out on a regular basis.

Also her family lives in a different city to us, so I'm worried that if we sell the house she will move nearer her family and I will see the kids less.

Money is neither of our strong points unfortunately, but we will have to sit down and see what she can claim for.

couponqueen123

what is your house worth?

can you not sell it and buy to smaller flats/houses in a cheaper area?

or sell your house and set yr ex partner and kids up ad use whats left as a deposit for yr self or just rent for time being

both of you need to sit down see what funds you have to sort both of u a home surely neaither of u want to be homeless and both want stable homes for your kids