Can i 'walk away' from a joint mortgage?

Nathan.Emery

Hi.

Me and the wife have a joint mortgage, but we are divorcing.
We have an 18mth daughter.
Ive not been in the house since december last year, but i am still paying my half of the mortgage, PLUS an agreed maintenance cost. ($506 total, thats almost a third of my wages)

My Father gave me the deposit of 14.5k as early inheritance

My 'wife' is self empployed and i know will struggle to get a single mortgage, plus im not even sure shes looked, why would she when im a mug?!?!

I dont want to sell the house, as i want my little girl to have a home untill she is an adult.

Can i walk away from paying the mortgage, and get some form of document written up saying she cannot sell until my girl is 18, with her permission, and i get back at least half my deposit and half profit, and i have no claim untill such time.

The house has already made 13k in a year, and she did offer 5k to buy me out, which i refused, as quite rightly i want my 14.5k back minimum.

Can anyone please offer any advice of what i can and can't do??

:(

Pixie5740

If you have a joint mortgage then you can't just walk away from paying the mortgage. You remain jointly and severally liable for the whole mortgage. If you don't want to sell the house then why don't you continue living in it with your daughter whilst your wife finds alternative accommodation? If it's the case that the house has to be sold as part of the divorce settlement then your daughter will still have a home it just won't be in this particular house.

Number75

Hardly a mug.
You are paying towards housing your daughter, as you should.
Less than a third of your salary isn't that much, to meet your moral obligation to feed and house your child, as it sounds like your soon to be ex wife is providing the majority of the care (as your daughter lives with her).

Also, even though you haven't agreed terms on the financial split, you are likely to get a % of the house equity, so you're not just giving away this half a mortgage payment - you're paying towards an appreciating asset.

You really need to see a solicitor to discuss the financial settlement that you think is fair to both of you and in the best interests of your child.

Your solicitor can argue that the deposit came from you and so you want a higher share of equity. But her solicitor would likely take the view that you chose to pool assets - legally, that is marriage. It's also possible that this early inheritance was given to you both as a couple. So don't assume you have a legal right to that money.

Divorce is complex and there are no hard and fast rules. Yes, your father put in £14.5K. But perhaps your wife went self employed to raise your child and in so doing lost out on earning potential. So she lost financially and should be compensated. I don't know - but I'm giving the example because it's very common, and to point out that you can't just look at one bit of money in isolation.

You need to get on with the divorce, and discuss this with her, directly or in mediation or via solicitors.

As the PP said, you can't just walk away from a joint mortgage - she would need to take on the mortgage with a new application. If she is successful, but couldn't afford to buy you out then yes - you could agree with her to put a legal charge on the property. You would agree the % and how the future payment was calculated, and when.