Joint Ownership...courts next?

davidmcn

myotai wrote: »

I have been making serious attempts to contact her for three years now. Are you suggesting I need to start paying for a tracing service as a part of demonstrating to the courts I have been trying?

Yes. Why are you reluctant to do so? It needn't involve paying much. Probably cheaper than placing a newspaper advert or whatever other steps the court would require if you don't find her.

myotai

davidmcn wrote: »

Yes. Why are you reluctant to do so? It needn't involve paying much. Probably cheaper than placing a newspaper advert or whatever other steps the court would require if you don't find her.

why would you think I was being reluctant?? I was just curious if this is what is expected.

Can the court process be implemented without the use of solicitors?

bowlhead99

myotai wrote: »

Can the court process be implemented without the use of solicitors?

I don't know, but in your shoes why try it.

I am all for people researching, educating themselves and doing a DIY process to save money on fees; it is a money saving site, after all. But you mention you would hope/expect to walk away with "a good old wedge". So, it's not that you can't afford to employ a professional to get it right.

If your knowledge level is such that you don't really know where to get started with any of this without recourse to some online forum where some of the respondents are only making educated guesses, or perhaps uneducated guesses, and may not choose to admit that they don't know the proper answer... then you have to ask yourself whether you would really be able to complete the entire process of releasing your hundreds-of-thousands of pounds-worth asset, in the most efficient way possible, even if it wasn't a requirement to involve a solicitor. Going to small claims court over a £100 dispute and self-representing is one thing. A house is bigger.

If the court asked you a question to which you weren't sure the best answer to give, or the next step in the process, would you just say "hold on Judge, I'm just going to ask the kindly fellows on an anonymous web forum, who don't have any vested interest in my outcome or any professional duty of care toward me, how i should respond next"?

Personally after engaging a tracing service to properly attempt to establish communication with the ex partner, I would seek professional help with the rest. Yet for example I still sometimes change the brakes on my car, and self-invest my retirement fund, because I know those areas well and don't need any professional assistance with that stuff at the moment.

davidmcn

myotai wrote: »

why would you think I was being reluctant??

Because that's how you're coming across so far - I'm not sure what methods you've been using up to now, but you obviously haven't "tried everything" yet!

Can the court process be implemented without the use of solicitors?

In theory yes, but with quite a steep learning curve, and I doubt it's sensible for this sort of thing.

steampowered

I often advise people to go ahead and use the court's small claims track without a solicitor.

But an order that a property be sold without one of the co-owner's consent is quite a serious thing. It is not a small claim.

I think you should use a solicitor. For something like this you will not get the same kind of leeway you would get with a small claim.

There are so many steps and formalities involved - from lodging the correct form; to citing the correct provisions of TOLATA; to making sure that your witness statement demonstrating you've made all necessary attempts to contact your ex-wife doesn't get thrown out because you didn't serve it properly and didn't include the necessary statement of truth - frankly I could write a book on it. I think you need a solicitor's expertise or you are likely to end up in an expensive mess.

If your ex-wife is unreasonably refusing to respond to communication, your counsel may be able to convince the court that your wife should pay your legal fees from her share.

Thrugelmir

myotai wrote: »

I have been making serious attempts to contact her for three years now. Are you suggesting I need to start paying for a tracing service as a part of demonstrating to the courts I have been trying?

What do you regard as serious?

myotai

Thrugelmir wrote: »

What do you regard as serious?

Letters to old address. Phone messages. Texts. social media. Friends of friends....everything bar knocking on her door (old address) which I think I am going to have to try!

myotai

bowlhead99 wrote: »

I don't know, but in your shoes why try it.

I am all for people researching, educating themselves and doing a DIY process to save money on fees; it is a money saving site, after all. But you mention you would hope/expect to walk away with "a good old wedge". So, it's not that you can't afford to employ a professional to get it right.

If your knowledge level is such that you don't really know where to get started with any of this without recourse to some online forum where some of the respondents are only making educated guesses, or perhaps uneducated guesses, and may not choose to admit that they don't know the proper answer... then you have to ask yourself whether you would really be able to complete the entire process of releasing your hundreds-of-thousands of pounds-worth asset, in the most efficient way possible, even if it wasn't a requirement to involve a solicitor. Going to small claims court over a £100 dispute and self-representing is one thing. A house is bigger.

If the court asked you a question to which you weren't sure the best answer to give, or the next step in the process, would you just say "hold on Judge, I'm just going to ask the kindly fellows on an anonymous web forum, who don't have any vested interest in my outcome or any professional duty of care toward me, how i should respond next"?

Personally after engaging a tracing service to properly attempt to establish communication with the ex partner, I would seek professional help with the rest. Yet for example I still sometimes change the brakes on my car, and self-invest my retirement fund, because I know those areas well and don't need any professional assistance with that stuff at the moment.

...... :rotfl:

myotai

davidmcn wrote: »

Because that's how you're coming across so far - I'm not sure what methods you've been using up to now, but you obviously haven't "tried everything" yet!

In theory yes, but with quite a steep learning curve, and I doubt it's sensible for this sort of thing.

I haven't tried everything nor would I ever be able to try everything.

But short of employing the services of a tracing agency, I am not sure what else I could have done.

Isn't receipt of a previous address usually enough for the court, in the absence of a current address?

steampowered

myotai wrote: »

Isn't receipt of a previous address usually enough for the court, in the absence of a current address?

Enough to start proceedings maybe. But not enough to convince a judge to make an order that the property is sold.

A judge is going to want proper evidence demonstrating that you really have explored all avenues before he make an order for sale of the property; and certainly before he signs land registry forms.