Divorce

Habib2342

Hello All,

I need some advice.

My brother got married to a foriegn national abroad and had his wedding in that country in February of last year. He then brought his wife over here in July.

Unfortunately things have taken a turn for the worse early on in the marriage and she walked out on him after a month of living with him after she discovered the full extent of his mental health issues. ( he has a mild form of schrizophenia ). Yes, she should've been made aware of the condition before agreeing to the marriage but we thought he was on top of it . Over time she had been goading and getting at him, and the stress caused by that triggered a mini relapse of sorts. The morality of whether she should've been told this from the beginning is a topic for discussion another time but right now, I want to ensure my brother's assets are secured. Due to her unfamilairty with this condition, she left and now we are worried that she is working out how she can remain in the country and/if she can get any monies out of him.

Things have been up in the air between them for nearly a month and it doesn't look likely things will be resolved. As a foreign national married to a British national , what rights does she have over him and his assets ? The flat he bought was bought with a mortgage and the deposit has been registered with a deed of trust which states the deposit monies are to be refunded back to our mother were the flat was to be sold. So as far as Im aware the deposit monies are secured and she cannot touch that. She can only claim on what he has paid down on his mortgage debt to date which is approx £700 as of this month.

Can someone advise what the official position is on a situation like this ?


thanks,

Habib.

Habib2342

Just also like to add the marriage hasn't been formally recognised under UK law and wanted to know if that would affect her rights and claims ?

Mojisola

Some info here -
http://www.divorce.co.uk/divorce-advice/international-divorce
but it will be worth getting legal advice from a solicitor familiar with the country where the marriage took place.

In the UK, usually a marriage has to last longer than 2 years (and up to 5 years) before the courts look at sharing assets. After such a short time married, they should both be returned to the financial situation that they were in before marriage.

Brightonsbest_2

I never knew that about the 2-5 year stance, thanks

Habib2342

so do you think its likely she will be able to claim anything ? She has not worked or contributed anything to the running of the flat .

Mojisola

Habib2342 wrote: »

so do you think its likely she will be able to claim anything ? She has not worked or contributed anything to the running of the flat .

You might get a range of our thoughts on here but your brother needs legal advice to be sure of his situation.

Bossypants

I completely agree that your brother needs legal advice asap.

I doubt she would be able to claim much through the divorce courts due to the reasons stated above. If I were her and I wanted to make some money out of the situation, I would be looking at whether I could claim for fraud on the grounds that if she had been told about the schizophrenia, she never would have married him. It would be pretty sketchy, if I remember correctly she would have to show, at a bare minimum, that she had given up something lucrative to accept his proposal (e.g. a job or perhaps another marriage proposal) *and* that he had deliberately hidden his condition from her in order to persuade her to marry him, *and* that she would not have married him had she known. It would be very difficult, but given the circumstances, the possibility of her trying does exist IMO.

TonyMMM

Habib2342 wrote: »

Just also like to add the marriage hasn't been formally recognised under UK law and wanted to know if that would affect her rights and claims ?

There is no mechanism to register or recognise a foreign marriage in the UK.

If the marriage was conducted legally in the country in which it took place, then it would generally be valid here automatically.

Mojisola

Habib2342 wrote: »

Unfortunately things have taken a turn for the worse early on in the marriage and she walked out on him after a month of living with him

Has your brother told the Home Office that he and his wife are separated?

Is she still using her spousal visa?

https://www.gov.uk/visas-when-you-separate-or-divorce

chesky

Was it a religious marriage or a legal marriage and which country.

Habib2342

It was a religious marriage which took place in Bangladesh in February of last year and a certificate was issued.


Our hopes were raised when they said they wanted to meet and I was going to drive him to their house this evening but now her uncle has got involved and thrown his two cents/venting his spleen etc,, even threatening to make our mother go to Bangladesh to explain things....


I don't think anything untowards will happen in the UK as they know law and order is strong here but Bangladesh, according to western standards, could be considered a lawless state, so I am concerned about my mother's safety were she to go back.....which i don't think she should consider for at least a few years...




They are saying they need more time and are also aggrieved that my brother has not attempted to contact her since she walked out.


another fine mess to clean up..