Can my estranged wife take my compensation/house?

Snowglobe78

I separated from my wife 2 years ago and we have children together. She still lives in the matrimonial home which is a house that has a mortgage. It's not been the easiest of separations as she has stopped me seeing my children and keeps throwing accusations at me. I keep trying to see my children but she doesn't play fair. I will now take this to court for access.

Whilst we were together I had an industrial accident and started a compensation claim in court.

I have a new partner and am very happy but obviously seeing my children would make me happier.

Recently my compensation was finalised in court and I bought myself a new house, outright, where I now live with my partner and her children.

I have filed for divorce but my ex is saying she will not agree to the divorce until financial matters have been sorted. I have a feeling she knows about my compensation claim.

Out of the compensation claim, the DWP took back what was paid to me for ESA as I couldn't work. They class this as loss of earnings. I have been told my ex would have a right to some of that loss of earnings while we were together but this has been paid back to DWP.

I am now worried that through divorce, she will make some kind of claim on my new house, bought out of my compensation money. Can she? Does she have any legal entitlement my new home?

Caz3121

did you have a legal separation?
I think you are going to need some legal advice if you are wanting to avoid the compensation and your new property going into the matrimonial pot for division (if indeed there is a way and there may not be since it sounds like this compensation is for something that happened when you were together so there may be no way to avoid it being part of the pot)

Snowglobe78

It wasn't a legal separation, no. But the divorce has just been filed.

I was told that she would be entitled to the loss of earnings part but as that was paid back to DWP I don't think she should get any more? She has the house, the children, has all my belongings and refuses to give them back. She has taken everything from me and it's only now I am finally standing on my own 2 feet. I bought this house out of my compensation as it gives me stability for when I am able to have access to my children. I lived with my mother for 2 years and it's taken so long to finally feel *human* again, if that makes sense? She has taken everything away from me and it just seems so unfair if she entitled to take even more from me

CP26

You need some proper legal advice I think.

As you're not yet divorced techically anything you both have now could be considered part of the marital pot and therefore up for grabs when you draw up a final financial agreement.

It's difficult to say how a judge might view your compensation and new home - they might agree that as you've been split for a while there's a limit to what she could get, they might not.

As you also have children involved the judge will also be taking them into consideration when deciding how fair a settlement is.

However it is worth noting that the divorce and a financial settlement are two completely separate things in the eyes of the court, they just normally get dealt with at the same time.

If you want to go ahead with the divorce, she has 2 options to try and stop / delay it:

1) formally contest it - this is very expensive and most solicitors would advise against it.

2) not reply to the paperwork - if this happens there are court processes in place to help you push the divorce through. It'll take a bit longer and cost a little more, but the divorce can still happen.

maman

CP26 wrote: »

You need some proper legal advice I think.

I'd agree.


I can understand why your wife wants all the finances settled. She may be living in your former home but, unlike yours, it's still on a mortgage. Similarly the children. She'll want to know that their futures are secured.


I think it's wrong that she's keeping you from the children (assuming it's because she's mad about the finances) but you'll need to deal with that separately.

FBaby

So assume the matrimonial home is under both your names but she has been paying the full mortgage for the past 2 years? Longer?

Are you saying that you would be happy to give up your part of that home for the other? In that case, what's the difference in value/equity? Could she afford to take on the mortgage of the matrimonial home alone?

There is a lot into it that makes it almost impossible to advise. You might be in for a serious fight though if your new house is valued at a lot more than what the equity in the matrimonial house is worth, especially with her having residency of the children, which depending on their age could mean a judge allocating a higher share of all assets to her.

Snowglobe78

There is a lot more into this but the upshot of it is, she is and always has been a money grabber and out to get what she can.

When she found out I had a girlfriend she reported me to the police and accused me of sexual assault. Even though she had been dating another man and the reason our marriage broke down was because she told me she had been someone else.
The police investigated and saw different messages from herself to myself admitting she made it up as she was angry at me, and they NFA'd the case down to retaliation. I chose not to take it further as I didn't want to cause any upset to our children (now aged 5 and 7).
because of this I have been fighting and trying my hardest to gain access to my children but she makes it unbelievably difficult.

At the beginning of this year there was a final hearing regarding matters around my father dying and his assets. He was leaving money to my children and I was the named guardian and I asked for such money (it wasn't a lot) to go into savings bonds for the children to have when they became of age.
My estranged wife found out about this and turned up to court on the day, bringing my children and keeping them away from me. She asked the court to put her down as named guardian instead as the children resided with her. She did this intentionally to be vindictive and thinking there was going to be more money than she thought. The children were left with £600 each and can only be touched if there is exceptional circumstances. She was quite displeased with the amount.

The house she lives in is in both of our names. She worked up until last year and even when she worked she was not paying the mortgage. She lets it get into default, then it goes to court for repossession, but then she pays a lump sum to stop this. This has happened twice. Already the mortgage has frozen and all she is paying is the interest and even then she does not pay. I have given money in the past but she has not used this on the mortgage. I have contacted the mortgage company to sign the house into her name but they refuse as she always lets it get into arrears, months at a time.

I pay maintenance for my children and they also have a savings account, created by myself so I put money in there too for them.

When my estranged wife asked me to leave the matrimonial home (well in reality she kicked me out as she had found someone else) I left with just the clothes on my back and I lived with my mother for 2 years. It has taken so long to build myself back up and be happy.

The house I have bought outright is only slightly worth more than the house we have in joint names.

I do not like the idea of a big fight as all I have seemed to do for the last 2 years is fight for my kids and I seem to be getting nowhere. My estranged wife is out for all that she can get and I feel that if she is entitled to a claim on my new house, then the law system sucks! This is my security and my children's security. She is an evil and vindictive woman who cares for nobody but herself. I know you probably hear that a lot, but it's true

Gigglepig

If the ex is struggling to pay the mortgage on the family house where she is housing two young children, it is understandable that she wants to take her share of the marital assets. This does not make her moneygrabbing in my eyes.mOften maintenance payments are nowhere near enough to cover the costs of bringing up children, and childcare can be extortionate.

Sounds like legal advice would be useful. Before you speak with a lawyer it might be useful to make a list of the marital assets (equity, savings, pension pots, cars and other valuable items) and any debts, and think about what you would be happy to offer her.

Tigsteroonie

Like the others, I would definitely recommend you get legal representation for the financial settlement.

The accident presumably happened when you were together, so would have had an impact on family life & therefore her life. The compensation has come through after you split up. I couldn't say what the entitlement is, but I am now curious and might have a look thru a reference tome later

eta. Some interesting thoughts here (but bear in mind that this is one person's interprestation): http://www.stewartslaw.com/preserving-personal-injury-damages-on-divorce.aspx

It may well be that certain elements of any award are properly matrimonial, whilst others are non-matrimonial. In very broad terms any aspect of the award that compensates loss (e.g. loss of earnings) may be more likely to be held to be matrimonial whereas any expense element (e.g. future care needs) is more likely to be non-matrimonial.

Homeownertobe

Nice that you used the money to put a roof over your girlfriend's children's heads rather than over your own.

timbo58

Homeownertobe wrote: »

Nice that you used the money to put a roof over your girlfriend's children's heads rather than over your own.

Uncalled for IMHO.

He doesn't say he bought the house for them, he bought it for himself and his GF moved in.

I am sure if he had the opportunity of housing his own children (with him) then he would.

It sounds as if his ex is the one who is risking the roof over her own head.

Why does it always have to be the NR parent in the wrong?

OP -these people are very useful in regards to your access:
http://www.fnf.org.uk