Help with divorce

Lankies

Hello everyone,
my friend and her husband have split up due to him having an affair,they had been married 16 years,my friend owned the house they lived in for 10 years before they met,he never paid anything towards the mortgage as he was always in and out of work so she covered all the mortgage payments as well as most of the other household bills,they have no children,her estranged husband has told her he has been to a solicitor and was told that he is entitled to half the value of the house so he is insisting she sells it,she is absolutely gobsmacked that he has a claim on something she already owned before they married and made no contributions to,she has 2 sons from her first marriage and she wanted them to inherit the house,she is 59 years old so not in a position to get another mortgage,so very sad to think she could end up losing the home she has paid for herself,is there any way round this?could she sign the house over now to her children so her husband couldn't get his hands on it?

PeacefulWaters

The starting point is 50/50.

But that also applies to pensions.

If he's got a higher value pension pot then there might be a case for her keeping the house and him keeping his pension.

Preparing a list of questions and talking to a solicitor herself would be a good idea. I paid out £192 for an hour and it was excellent value as it gave me a platform to negotiate directly with my ex and then move on to DIY divorce.

No two situations are the same. But best value for both parties will involve stomaching negotiations with each other and reaching a mutually acceptable agreement.

But yes, the starting point is what's hers is his and what's his is hers ...

jackieblack

Lankies wrote: »

she is absolutely gobsmacked that he has a claim on something she already owned before they married

Did she miss the bit in the marriage service about sharing all her worldly goods?

Anyone who is going to enter into a legally binding contract should be aware and understand what exactly they are agreeing to, it's not all about the dress and having a party!

Diary

Lankies wrote: »

Hello everyone,
my friend and her husband have split up due to him having an affair,they had been married 16 years,my friend owned the house they lived in for 10 years before they met,he never paid anything towards the mortgage as he was always in and out of work so she covered all the mortgage payments as well as most of the other household bills,they have no children,her estranged husband has told her he has been to a solicitor and was told that he is entitled to half the value of the house so he is insisting she sells it,she is absolutely gobsmacked that he has a claim on something she already owned before they married and made no contributions to,she has 2 sons from her first marriage and she wanted them to inherit the house,she is 59 years old so not in a position to get another mortgage,so very sad to think she could end up losing the home she has paid for herself,is there any way round this?could she sign the house over now to her children so her husband couldn't get his hands on it?

Why didn't she want her husband to inherit the house? if she wanted monetary contributions she should have said when they first married. And then got rid of him if he didn't contribute while she still could've kept the house.
The time for doing anything about that unusual scenario has long passed.

Guest101

Lankies wrote: »

Hello everyone,
my friend and her husband have split up due to him having an affair,they had been married 16 years,my friend owned the house they lived in for 10 years before they met,he never paid anything towards the mortgage as he was always in and out of work so she covered all the mortgage payments as well as most of the other household bills,they have no children,her estranged husband has told her he has been to a solicitor and was told that he is entitled to half the value of the house so he is insisting she sells it,she is absolutely gobsmacked that he has a claim on something she already owned before they married and made no contributions to,she has 2 sons from her first marriage and she wanted them to inherit the house,she is 59 years old so not in a position to get another mortgage,so very sad to think she could end up losing the home she has paid for herself,is there any way round this?could she sign the house over now to her children so her husband couldn't get his hands on it?

No, the husband is totally correct, 16 years of marriage, he's entitled to half.


Trying to hide this wont help, unless she wants a contempt of court charge too

Gavin83

Lankies wrote: »

Hello everyone,
my friend and her husband have split up due to him having an affair,they had been married 16 years,my friend owned the house they lived in for 10 years before they met,he never paid anything towards the mortgage as he was always in and out of work so she covered all the mortgage payments as well as most of the other household bills,they have no children,her estranged husband has told her he has been to a solicitor and was told that he is entitled to half the value of the house so he is insisting she sells it,she is absolutely gobsmacked that he has a claim on something she already owned before they married and made no contributions to,she has 2 sons from her first marriage and she wanted them to inherit the house,she is 59 years old so not in a position to get another mortgage,so very sad to think she could end up losing the home she has paid for herself,is there any way round this?could she sign the house over now to her children so her husband couldn't get his hands on it?

Confirming what others have said starting point is 50/50 and given that the marriage was fairly long I can't imagine it'll deviate that far from this figure. Does he have other assets (savings, pensions, etc) that could counter this at all? Also take into account that if she has other assets such as the above these will be taken into account too so he could potentially depending on circumstances end up with way more than 50% of the property.

No she can't sign the house over to her children. Given the circumstances it'll be clear it was done to reduce his settlement in the divorce and it'll be considered.

Her best bet is to speak to a solicitor, get an idea of what they are both entitled to and then try to come up with an agreement without it going to court. However I think for this to work she'll need to let go of her emotions and be realistic as to what he's entitled to.

davidwood123

Bet the OP wouldn't have an issue in a man paying all the bills and giving his wife, who doesn't work, half after 16 years of marriage though.

TBagpuss

The starting point is an equal division of all assets. After 16 years it is unlikely that her initial higher contributions will made much, if any difference to that if a court decides that.

The court can also take into account differences in their earning capacities, needs and ages, So for instance, if he is younger and/or currently earns more than her, she may be able to argue that he should have slightly less than half, and vice versa.

Being 59 doesn't mean she can't get a mortgage. Most lenders lend up to age 65 so she could get a small mortgage over the next 5- years, or alternatively could look in to equity release which would allow her to borrow to stay in her home, although it would then mean there was less for her to leave to her sons.

She would be well advised to get an up to date valuation for the house, and to go to see a solicitor herself, with as much information as she has about her current income, assets and earnings, and those of her husband, and also to talk to an independent mortgage advisor about her options.

She might be able to look at options either to buy him out, or to downsize.