Hypothetical Q - Home ownership split upon divorce

cashbackproblems

hey there

would appreciate some advice, firstly i am not yet in this situation but just thinking of a potential scenario occurring. I am currently 30yrs old and on the verge of getting my own place which i have worked hard for, and planning on getting married in the next few years.

The property will just be in my name, but assume my gf and myself get divorced after 2/3 years and no kids (which we don't plan to have), would she be entitled to a HALF of my property? Despite not having paid any of the deposit/minimal mortgage.

Obviously i don't expect to be divorcing but planning for worse case, is there any chance of having a pre-nup stating she would only get what she has contributed to the mortgage (minus expenses) would this hold in a UK court? Other assets like cash/investments i keep offshore as i have a foreign account, but property is something which concerns me..

thanks

Dill

cashbackproblems wrote: »

hey there

would appreciate some advice, firstly i am not yet in this situation but just thinking of a potential scenario occurring. I am currently 30yrs old and on the verge of getting my own place which i have worked hard for, and planning on getting married in the next few years.

The property will just be in my name, but assume my gf and myself get divorced after 2/3 years and no kids (which we don't plan to have), would she be entitled to a HALF of my property? Despite not having paid any of the deposit/minimal mortgage.

Obviously i don't expect to be divorcing but planning for worse case, is there any chance of having a pre-nup stating she would only get what she has contributed to the mortgage (minus expenses) would this hold in a UK court? Other assets like cash/investments i keep offshore as i have a foreign account, but property is something which concerns me..

thanks

No. Pre-nups don't hold any legal power here in the UK.

You are seeing the property as your own, which you have worked hard for. That may not be fair on your future wife, as it will be yours (plural) if you decide to go ahead and marry. Why not get your own property for now, and when you marry you can pool your resources and move into another (marital) home, which will belong to both of you?

Mojisola

cashbackproblems wrote: »

I am currently 30yrs old and on the verge of getting my own place which i have worked hard for, and planning on getting married in the next few years.

The property will just be in my name, but assume my gf and myself get divorced after 2/3 years and no kids (which we don't plan to have), would she be entitled to a HALF of my property? Despite not having paid any of the deposit/minimal mortgage.

A 'short' marriage is now considered anything up to five years but time spent living together will be taken into account. After a short marriage, both sides would normally go back to how they were before the marriage so the house would be yours - any longer and a split would have to be agreed.

If you want to protect your investment, best stay unmarried.

When_the_going_gets_tough

Don't get married. Read the marriage service -- I know lots of people marry in non religious places and the promises are truncated but for an understanding of what you are signing up to read the marriage service - "everything I have I give you...." If you dont want that dont get married.

TBagpuss

|A pre-nup would not be binding, but would be taken into account. On divorce, a court has to decide what is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances. A pre-nup is a relevant circumstance. It would not automatically mean she got nothing, but it might well mean that she got less than she would have done if the circumstances were otherwise the same but there was no pre-nup.

The other benefit of a pre-nup is that the two of you would need to agree on it, so you would both have to discuss your attitudes to money, your expectations in relation to money and to the marriage and to come to an agreement about what you both see as fair. And if you do all of that, the chances of you having serious disagreements about your shared finances are reduced, as you can make sure that you are both on the same page before you start. And if the worst comes to the worst, you are more likely to be able to reach an agreement rather than having to fight it out at that time.

LilElvis

cashbackproblems wrote: »

Other assets like cash/investments i keep offshore as i have a foreign account, but property is something which concerns me..

ALL your assets would become marital assets - not just those in the UK - as can be seen by divorces involving Russian oligarchs and Saudi sheiks.

PeonySugar

To cut a long story short, me and my boyfriend have a declaration of trust set in place so that I get the first £10,000.00 of the profit and the rest is split 50/50 and we own the property as tenants in common but still a 50/50 ownership split. Google declaration of trusts.

Mojisola

PeonySugar wrote: »

To cut a long story short, me and my boyfriend have a declaration of trust set in place so that I get the first £10,000.00 of the profit and the rest is split 50/50 and we own the property as tenants in common but still a 50/50 ownership split. Google declaration of trusts.

That's okay for unmarried people.

Guest101

cashbackproblems wrote: »

hey there

would appreciate some advice, firstly i am not yet in this situation but just thinking of a potential scenario occurring. I am currently 30yrs old and on the verge of getting my own place which i have worked hard for, and planning on getting married in the next few years.

The property will just be in my name, but assume my gf and myself get divorced after 2/3 years and no kids (which we don't plan to have), would she be entitled to a HALF of my property? Despite not having paid any of the deposit/minimal mortgage.

Obviously i don't expect to be divorcing but planning for worse case, is there any chance of having a pre-nup stating she would only get what she has contributed to the mortgage (minus expenses) would this hold in a UK court? Other assets like cash/investments i keep offshore as i have a foreign account, but property is something which concerns me..

thanks

The short answer is yes shed get some, upto, or more than, 50% (and she'd get those off-shore accounts too) - thats marriage.


If you don't like it, don't get married.

psychopathbabble

I forget what it's called but you can get a document (just seen above it's a declaration of trust) that says you get the first £XXXX of the sale if you were to sell the house. Best to speak to a solicitor to see how you can contract it so you both get the share you put in (70/30 or whatever it may be).

However, I think it's a little unfair to have your girlfriend move in with you and help make it a home but not gain anything financially. Before we got married, and earlier on in the relationship, my DH was looking at buying and we were going to put that document in place.... but I said that if I'm contributing towards the mortgage (paying him rent) and bills etc then it's not fair if we were to split up and I would be left with nothing.

As it happens, we haven't put that document in place but I am happy to give him the deposit back out of any equity if we were to sell the house in a divorce situation. Why not have a full and frank discussion with your girlfriend and see how she feels about it? Best to see how well matched in financial thinking you both are!

Guest101

psychopathbabble wrote: »

I forget what it's called but you can get a document (just seen above it's a declaration of trust) that says you get the first £XXXX of the sale if you were to sell the house. Best to speak to a solicitor to see how you can contract it so you both get the share you put in (70/30 or whatever it may be).

However, I think it's a little unfair to have your girlfriend move in with you and help make it a home but not gain anything financially. Before we got married, and earlier on in the relationship, my DH was looking at buying and we were going to put that document in place.... but I said that if I'm contributing towards the mortgage (paying him rent) and bills etc then it's not fair if we were to split up and I would be left with nothing.

As it happens, we haven't put that document in place but I am happy to give him the deposit back out of any equity if we were to sell the house in a divorce situation. Why not have a full and frank discussion with your girlfriend and see how she feels about it? Best to see how well matched in financial thinking you both are!

Don't need a document to gain a beneficial interest, it happens simply by contributing to the mortgage.