Divorce advice

rorrism

My wife and I separated last year on the understanding that it would be amicable, we would wait two years and then go through an "amicable" divorce. The agreement was that I would pay an enhanced rate of maintenance for the children (over and above CSA calculator recommendations) and the home including all equity would be transferred into her name.

She has now come to me saying she would like a divorce to ensure there I could state no claim on the property later on. I have, and will not ever have any inclination to make a claim on my share of the property but unfortunately this isn't enough for her.

Is there any way this divorce (or protection of the home in solely her name) can be done without the, in my eyes, unnecessary use of solicitors? I see there are places on the internet offering "quickie and DIY divorces" but I was just looking for some advice really.

Any help greatly appreciated.

monty-doggy

Are both your names on the mortgage? Can she afford the mortgage on her own? As part of the divorce would be transferring the property to her, but I wouldn't advise transferring all the equity to her but leaving you on the mortgage as if she ever stopped paying it, you would be jointly liable and it would also mean you may struggle to get a mortgage of your own in the future.

It is possible to do a divorce without the solicitor and then use a solicitor for the consent agreement over finances just to make sure it's watertight but I would def seek advice over the property.

rorrism

thanks for your response

The property is transferred into her name and the mortgage company are in the process of starting a new mortgage in her name. Affordability isn't an issue as maintenance from me would pay the mortgage and running costs of the house but I do see your point, and that's an angle I hadn't thought about.

I suppose I just thought this was a simple case of me agreeing to pay £x per month maintenance and transfer the property but looks like I've got a visit to a solicitor coming up...

monty-doggy

Not necessarily, once the mortgage is in her name are there any other finances to sort out? My oh and his ex divorced without a solicitor, I did all the paperwork. The divorce part is straight forward. You will be asked about arrangements for the children, you fill that section in and she is sent a copy, as long as she agrees then the court will be happy with that. You will be asked about child maintenance, as above as long as you both agree.

Once the divorce is done which costs £435 and takes about 6 months, you can apply for a consent order which is around £145 when I last checked. This will state what finances you split etc. after that you get a clean break order which means neither of you can come ack to the other in future should your financial situation change ( except child maintenance, that's calculated as a % of your earnings) or I be just decides they want more!

If your amicable, you don't need solicitors. But ensure your name is off that mortgage first!

FBaby

Many mortgage lenders don't take maintenance into consideration on the basis that it can't relied on. How many years is left to pay ans how old are the children?

rorrism

Thanks for your responses.

Financially all savings have been split two ways, there is no debt other than the mortgage (and the car which I took and is in my name). All paperwork is signed to remove my name from the mortgage and she has a solicitor who is taking care of this. The mortgage has about 17 years remaining and is with Nationwide. They agreed to take maintenance into account as long as I signed a statement declaring how much I would pay and for how long. My children are three and seven so, seeing as they will be in education until they are at least eighteen my ex will have fifteen years of money from me.

I'll look into the paperwork and discuss it with her when I see her next

FBaby

I'm very surprised about that as I certainly had a different experience with Nationwide. They turned to be right as my ex stopped paying maintenance shortly after the transfer. What would happen if you lost your job? Does she work at all?

rorrism

She works full time and earns a modest wage and her mortgage will be approximately 70% LTV. I am not privy to the conversations that she had with them but from what I have been told they are happy.

I am in the process of buying somewhere and the mortgage advisor I spoke to said to his knowledge Nationwide were the only company who would take maintenance into account. I don't know if it matters but we were with Nationwide on the joint mortgage, they are even allowing her to stay on the product we were on which had a great interest rate even though this is now unavailable.

May she was just lucky

DS4215

rorrism wrote: »

Thanks for your responses.

Financially all savings have been split two ways, there is no debt other than the mortgage (and the car which I took and is in my name). All paperwork is signed to remove my name from the mortgage and she has a solicitor who is taking care of this. The mortgage has about 17 years remaining and is with Nationwide. They agreed to take maintenance into account as long as I signed a statement declaring how much I would pay and for how long. My children are three and seven so, seeing as they will be in education until they are at least eighteen my ex will have fifteen years of money from me.

I'll look into the paperwork and discuss it with her when I see her next

What happens to your maintenance payments if you are made redundant or are unable to work through ill-health within that period?

Do either of you have a pension (as you both have a claim on the others persion too)?

She might want to protect herself from you coming back later and claiming your share of equity, but you also need to protect yourself if you come into money in the future too (to stop her claiming on any property you buy or inherit, etc).

rorrism

If I were made redundant I would have to find another job, to support myself as well as them. If I were unable to work my employers have a generous sick pay scheme in place but I see your point. Surely that is the same scenario as it was when I was named on the mortgage, being the major earner whether she loses the money via non maintenance payment or via me losing my job it is the same loss.

re: the pensions we both have our own pensions and the agreement would be that we would each keep what is our own. That is why the whole thing is simple and I don't feel we would need a solicitor. Maintenance is agreed by both parties, the house is a total transfer to her, savings have been split so we just each take what we have at the moment. I have had a look at the forms and it all seems relatively straight forward. As long as we both keep playing the game fairly it will be fine.

Mojisola

rorrism wrote: »

re: the pensions we both have our own pensions and the agreement would be that we would each keep what is our own. That is why the whole thing is simple and I don't feel we would need a solicitor. Maintenance is agreed by both parties, the house is a total transfer to her, savings have been split so we just each take what we have at the moment. I have had a look at the forms and it all seems relatively straight forward. As long as we both keep playing the game fairly it will be fine.

That's the bit that can't be guaranteed.

I wouldn't risk a DIY agreement for something like this. Some years down the line when there may be new partners involved and perhaps more children to consider, you want to know that your agreement is watertight.