Fair division upon separation

double_mummy

heyboo wrote: »

We've always kept our money very separate so my house has never been contributed to by him. The only time when we've pooled our money is since LO came along and since we agreed to separate in January (when I had nothing) the money has been separate again. doesnt really work like that because your money was going on your house it means there was less available for your shared household same with the pension just because you arranged it separately does not mean that how it will be looked upon


Given that I'll be bringing up our LO (and he's self employed so CM will be the bare minimum even though he earns a decent wage) I'll be taking the hit financially by working part time (sums don't add up for me to go full time) and paying for childcare I'd say I need the extra more than he does! There's not actually much equity in my house right now and I'm hoping to move back into it once the current tenant moves out. which means there is some equity in there


He's also getting to keep more of the jointly purchased large household items (mainly because I can't take them with me). this needs to be in the agreement how much more value is he getting than you from these items?And he's getting to stay in the family home until it's sold whereas I've had to fork out a fortune in fees to move to a different area. you didnt have to do this you chose to do this


Overall I do think he's getting a fair deal (but very much appreciate my contempt of him right now may be clouding that). There's a bit more to this but it's an extremely long story that it isn't necessary to go into here. it would be advisable for you both to see a solicitor before you agree this as the judge could take a more positive view of it being unfair if he has agreed to it after seeing one


Thanks again.

good luck!!!

supersaver2

If your husband goes to a solicitors which is highly likely I can't see them advising him that what you are offering is a good deal. 10 years together is a fair amount of time and I think its likely all assets will he pooled together and split. I would imagine you shall be allowed to keep your house until your child has grown up but I doubt you will be able to walk away with your full pension, 100% share in 1 house and 50% share in another, don't think a judge will agree that its a fair split.

heyboo

Thank again everyone.
Given me some food for thought certainly.
He's always promised he'd never chase me for a share of my house (and yes I do realise that could sound naïve!). I know he would want to do this without solicitors too.
As I typed this out quickly last night and realised some timings didn't seem right in the responses - my house was bought 11 years ago and I lived in it for five. We've lived together for five years, bought our house 3.5 years ago and married for 18 months. I'm sure that doesn't make much difference, but for the sake of clarity and all that...


He also has a van and a motorbike that I'm not asking for any share in.


The house contents were mostly mine to start with - of the joint stuff he's coming away with about £5K and me about £1.5K.


As for being my choice to move out...it most assuredly is not. There's a safety issue involving a child of his from a previous relationship that means that for the sake of my LO I've been left with no choice. However that is a veritable can of worms so am just trying to concentrate on practicalities right now.

TBagpuss

you need to speak to a solicitor.

- the fact that you kept all assets separate is relevant - it would not prevent him from making a claim against you but it would be taken into account
- you have a very young child - how will this impact you income and earning capacity?
I would recommend that you agree a level of maintenance for LO but aim to have the separation agreement / consent order drawn up to provide for global maintenance or nominal maintenance.

It is hard to say how reasonable the settlement is without knowing the figures involved - where there is a very young child, it would often be reasonable for there to be an unequal split of capital in favour of the parent caring for the child, because looking after her will have a substantial impact on income (and therefore on mortgage capacity, ability to build a pension etc) for many years - it's important to look not only at whether the split looks fair now this minute, but also at what financial position each of you will be in 5 or 10 years down the line. How much does he currently ear? How much do you currently earn?
What will you have left after paying for essential such as housing, food and utilities each month? What will he have each month?

How much equity is there in your house?
What is your pension currently worth?
What is his pension currently worth.?

Without that information it is impossible to say if the proposal is fair, or if it is unduly generous to either of you.

heyboo

Thanks TBagpuss.


Having LO reduces my earning capacity down to 3/5th of my full time salary. After childcare, rent and bills I'll be left with not a great deal. Just waiting to hear about my tax credit award. Am hoping DH will make a fair contribution.


I worked out how much better off I'd be by increasing to 4 days a week - because of my company car, childcare voucher scheme and tax credits I'd be working for less than £20 on the extra days - and paying £40 a day in childcare so barely worth it!
I honestly don't know what my pension's worth (note to self, chase company on why I haven't had an update for a while!) - we lost our final salary scheme after I'd been paying in for about 2.5 years. It looks like there's about £170 a month going in (the company does a salary sacrifice on it so I can never do the calculations).


He doesn't have a pension scheme, despite my best efforts to get him to sort one out.


His exact salary I couldn't tell you - on paper, it's not a lot. I guess that's what you pay your accountant for.


I'd say he'll be earning nearly double what I earn a month (although he has running costs to deduct).


In our home there is maybe £60K equity (if you believe the estate agent's valuation!). In my house there's maybe £10-15K tops. A relative of his very generously gifted us £10K of the deposit. Obviously that will be paid back (I'll certainly be paying back my share - they may waive OH's but that's irrelevant).


I really appreciate everyone's input, thank you.

justme111

Op , I would not be splitting hairs trying to get every penny to and fro , it may well balance out and eventually end up in more or less the same but for money spent on solicitors and animosity which is not good. I would say it sounds roughly fair , get it properly documented and hope he will be helping with child support conscientiously. Sorry it ended up in a split , please look after yourself and try not to feel angry