Amicable divorce - Splitting the house

just_t

Hi,

I'm splitting with my wife of just a year (i'll not go into detail but there is zero chance of saving the marriage). She wants out and I just want it over as quick and easily as possible now there is no turning back.

We both want to sort this out amicably and are sensible enough to come to a fair conclusion. We have a joint account where the bills come from, a little joint savings and a house. We are happy to split the joint account and savings. The tricky part is the house. There is enough equity in it for me to buy her out (currently speaking to a mortgage adviser) but i'm not sure what the right process to take is? I also have a work pension i've been paying into for about 2 years now.

We have informally agreed on an amount that she wants from the house which I agree with but i'm not sure what the next step to take is? She seems to think we need to sort the house before starting divorce proceedings but i cant see this being right?

I don't want to waste an absolute fortune on solicitors when we can agree to a figure but I also don't want to shoot myself in the foot and ruin my future.

If I do sort the mortgage and get her name taken off, how do I make sure that she is no longer entitled to it whilst the divorce proceedings are going through? What about my pension? As its only been a couple of years do I need to do anything?

I'm trying to search google for answers but I haven't found a clear guide yet.

Any and all help greatly appreciated.

HappyMJ

If you can sort everything out before seeing the solicitor then all the solicitor needs to do is rubber stamp your divorce papers and off you go. Less costs for you.

If it's amicable then do try and sort it out yourselves.

You can apply for a mortgage in your own name to buy her equity out and transfer the property into your own name at the same time.

Clear guide's do not exist everyone's situation is different and it's as clear as mud.

Gloomendoom

My ex and I did the same. I bought her out and gave her the money before our divorce was finalised.

No problems and no solicitors involved. You may have more protection if you do it before the divorce because if either of you starts playing silly burgers, you can always get lawyers involved before the final split.

ETA Make sure you get a clean break order too.

pmlindyloo

It is always sensible to get a legal agreement in place when property etc are involved.

The cheapest way to do this is to go through Family Mediation who will help finalise things and draw up an agreement. This can then be made into a legally binding document through a solicitor.

Family Mediation will guide you through everything.

This is a good overview with links to find a Family Mediator.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/relationships/relationship-problems/ending-a-marriage/

The_Observer

I'm probably going to be going through the same as you shortly. Me and my wife have agreed a figure. If you Google Divorce and then look at the government website .gov.UK it will have all the relevant forms.
I think you will need a financial order form D190 which makes them final.

just_t

great, thank you so much all.

ill take a look at the above and see how i get on.

CP26

The divorce and any financial matters are technically two separate things in the eyes of the court...they just usually get dealt with in a similar time frame.

1) You can do the divorce yourself without paying for a solicitor. If you are both amicable it's a pretty straightforward process and you can download the forms from th gov.uk website. You'll only have to pay the court fees then, not any solicitor fees.

One of you will need to be the Petitioner and make the application. The Petitioner does the leg work, whilst the other party is the Respondent and quite literally just responds to court paperwork.

- The Petitioner fills in the forms and selects their reason for divorce. As you haven't been separated for at least 2 years and you want to get a move on I guess you'll be using the unreasonable behaviour option.

- In their application the Petitioner has to include a statement about the Respondents unreasonable behaviour. It doesn't have to be really mean but it's useful if the Respondent can be a grown up about reading it and not get in a huff. The statement doesn't affect any financial settlement and it's only seen by the court so really it is just a means to an end.

- The Petitioner submits their application and pays the court fee. In the application you can try to claim this back from the Respondent. However if you're being amicable it's worth having a chat about who pays for what first.

- The court sends a copy of the application to the Respondent. They then fill in a short form to say they're happy to proceed with the divorce and send this back to the court.

- If forms all in order the court will grant the Decree Nisi.

- The Petitioner has to wait at least six weeks before they can apply for the Decree Absolute. You have to submit another form after this waiting period.

- The court grants the Absolute and that's it.



2) You will need to get a consent order (otherwise known as a clean break order) sealed by a court. A solicitor will need to draft this for you to make sure it's legally binding.

A consent order is kind of like a will...you can put pretty much whatever you want in there. It will also contain a clause that says you can make no further financial claims against each other in the future so you're both protected.

You can't apply for a consent order until you have your Decree Nisi granted. Couples usually tie up the consent order in the six week wait between Nisi and applying for their Absolute and submit both applications to the court leaving everything tied off in a neat bow.

In your case you'd probably say that you've both split the contents of the accounts and that you will pay your ex £X from the house with the house being transferred into your name. The solicitor will word all this appropriately.

I managed to find a local solicitor to do the above for a reasonable fixed fee. Depending on the service and the way your solicitor works you may both have to fill in a financial declaration laying out all your income.

My solicitior wanted me and my ex to do this for completeness, but we were happy to go ahead without, so the solicitior just drafted the order and checked the court forms which I'd completed myself. I then submitted the forms to the court so literally only paid for the order drafting services.

Wikivorce is very good for advice.

Although Wikivorce offers very cheap services I'd suggest finding a local solicitior instead even if it costs a few quid more as you have the peace of mind of being able to go in and see them if there's any delays or issues.