Ex Secretly Planning to Move out of Jointly Mortgaged Home

talie_watts

Hi, I'm looking for some advice please!

My husband and his ex-wife divorced 4 years ago, but as it was agreed that she is the primary caregiver to their young son, they agreed that their house which they have a joint mortgage on would not be sold. I think the arrangement was that a sale could be forced once their son turns 18, but in the meantime, his ex-wife will continue to live in that property with their son.

Prior to the divorce, my husband paid the whole share of the mortgage payments for 7 years, and he also took out a personal loan to cover home improvements for an extension that was built on the house. He is still paying this loan off now with interest, and she has never contributed towards the cost of home improvements. Neither of them had to pay a deposit for the house. So, my husband has paid the larger share of mortgage payments on the house, with him paying 7 years of it and her paying 4 years.

He has now heard from a mutual friend that she is planning on moving, and she has not discussed this with my husband with regard to what will happen to the house. He has only recently re-signed mortgage papers this year to help her out as she would not be able to get a mortgage on her own. We are thinking that she is probably planning on moving in with her partner who she is not married to.

I am wondering if anyone has any advice on what will happen in this situation? Surely my husband will have to be notified if the house either goes up for sale or she decides to rent it? They also did not pay for a Clean Break Order when they divorced, which I understand means that even though they are divorced, their finances are still tied.

The other problem is that while their relationship is mostly agreeable for the sake of their son (we have him stay at our home every weekend friday-sunday), it has sometimes grown contentious in the past with her threatening to stop my husband from seeing his son if her demands are not met.

My husband says that he's not bothered about the money and that he just wants this tie to her to be resolved, but I think that he is more worried about any potential disputes about who is entitled to what, and her withholding access to his son again. I am more concerned about the debts that he is still paying off for the home improvements, and would like for him to be able to pay those off.

We have never been in a position to afford legal advice on getting visitation for his son formally agreed, and she has also said that she did not want to go through CSA for maintenance payments, so their agreement is an informal fixed amount (for which we have proof of payments). Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I believe that my husband should be entitled to an equal 50/50 split, but as I said, we are worried about things growing contentious.

Pixie5740

She won't be able to sell the house without his consent. She could however let the property out and could just not tell him. The issue with her letting the property is that (I think) being a joint owner he will have a tax liability for the rent received even if she doesn't physically hand over any rent money to him. Her letting the property has the potential to get very messy for your husband unless he is fully involved and a joint landlord with her.

I don't think your husband can afford not to get some legal advice. Get a clean break order and get the house sold if she is moving out.