Husband refusing to help financially

ParkerFive

Hi. My husband has moved out of the house. He is refusing to pay any bills including child support. We have a mortgage of £950 per month and a second mortgage of £440 per month. He says because I earn more I have to pay it all! He is using his wage to sort out rent of a flat and pay his personal debt. I have contacted the CMS to help with child support and the mortgage company have been very good. I am working on the house to decorate to sell but I am doing everything by myself as well as looking after my two children (11 and 17). Is there any thing I can do to make him pay. I am worried that when the house sells he will get a larger share as I earn more?? I feel like he has just washed his hands if this debt and is just going to sit back while I do all the work to get it ready for sale - and he is going to expect his a large share!

-taff

If both of your names are on the mortgage, you are equally liable, so he can stop paying but you are still liable for the whole amount.

You should try to settle things amicably but that doesn't sound like it will happen so you really need to see a solicitor.
House equity splitting is not something anyone can reliably comment n because no one but you has all the facts.

pphillips

You can only get the matrimonial financial situation resolved by making an application to the family court in conjunction with an application for divorce or judicial separation. Before you make the application for financial remedy the court will normally require that you try to resolve the situation yourselves through a family mediation service. If the mediation breaks down then the mediator will give you a certificate to enable you to bring an application to the court.

societys_child

ParkerFive wrote: »

Hi. My husband has moved out of the house. He is refusing to pay any bills including child support. We have a mortgage of £950 per month and a second mortgage of £440 per month. He says because I earn more I have to pay it all! He is using his wage to sort out rent of a flat and pay his personal debt. I have contacted the CMS to help with child support and the mortgage company have been very good. I am working on the house to decorate to sell but I am doing everything by myself as well as looking after my two children (11 and 17). Is there any thing I can do to make him pay. I am worried that when the house sells he will get a larger share as I earn more?? I feel like he has just washed his hands if this debt and is just going to sit back while I do all the work to get it ready for sale - and he is going to expect his a large share!

Sorry you have problems, but don't do it all yourself. The 17 year old should be able to look after themselves and help with the decorating. Many on here were working full time at 15.
The 11 year old could probably help too . .

lika_86

Can he actually afford to pay towards the mortgage once his rent and personal bills are dealt with?

AylesburyDuck

Refusing to pay child support as well i see?
Congratulations of your weight loss OP, you appear to have lost around a couple of hundred pound of useless flab.

rpc

lika_86 wrote: »

Can he actually afford to pay towards the mortgage once his rent and personal bills are dealt with?

He'd better be able to, given he is contractually bound to pay it (as is the OP, but she's trying).

Does he realise what impact non-payment of the mortgage could have on his ability to get credit? Including renting?

-taff

It would only impact him if she stopped paying as well. He;ll get no black credit marks if she continues to pay even if he doesn't pay his half.

TBagpuss

At the moment, if you are living in the house and he isn't, it is not necessarily unreasonable that you should be paying the mortgage and other outgoings, as you are the one 'using' the property/.

He should definitely be paying child support.

In the long term the aim is to reach a financial settlement fiarto you both, and taking into account your respective needs, resources, income, earning capacity etc.

And yes, if you are the higher earner, that may well mean that it is fair for him to a larger share of capital assets, as he will have a lower mortgage capacity, less disposable income to build pensions and savings etc.

This may be offset you are held to have greater needs (for instance, if the children will be living with you) but the exact balance will depend on the specifics of your respective positions.

If you are doing work on the house then I would recommeend that (1) you get agetns in before you do the work, to advise on what they think the property is worth (2) keep records of anything you spend and (3) get the same agents back when the work is done and ask them whether in their view, the work has increased the value or simply made the property more saleable.

If you haven't yet done the work you can also tell the agents what you are planning to do and ask whether they think it will make any different to the value. If the answer is no, you may chose not to use your time and energy in that way.

If you are looking at trying to persaude him to contribute more, it can be helpful to look at what income you have left each month after paying tax, NI and the mortgage and essential buills ( council tax, gas, water, electricity) How much does he have left after tax, NI and his rent and essential utilities?

If he has more disposable income than you, it may be reasonable to ask him to contribute. If not, then it is harder to justify.

how was his personal debt built up? if this was fr things bought for the family (holidays, day to day costs, days out, etc) then it would be seen a a matrimonial debt not just 'his' even though it is in his name.

FBaby

Get an estate agent to value the house BEFORE the redecorating. If he doesn't pay the mortgage, you could make a case that he shouldn't benefit from any increase in the equity after he left. It might not be much, but you'd make a point.

rpc

-taff wrote: »

It would only impact him if she stopped paying as well. He;ll get no black credit marks if she continues to pay even if he doesn't pay his half.

Which is why I said simply "non payment of the mortgage".

Sounds like OP can't afford it all on her own, so default is a real possibility.

TBagpuss wrote: »

At the moment, if you are living in the house and he isn't, it is not necessarily unreasonable that you should be paying the mortgage and other outgoings, as you are the one 'using' the property/.

Except if she can't afford it, they should both pay their share until it can reasonably be sold. He can't be held responsible forever, but ceasing payment as soon as he moved out isn't necessarily reasonable either.

FBaby wrote: »

Get an estate agent to value the house BEFORE the redecorating. If he doesn't pay the mortgage, you could make a case that he shouldn't benefit from any increase in the equity after he left. It might not be much, but you'd make a point.

Spending marital money on a marital asset doesn't, in the first instance, create a larger share for her. All assets are joint until they are split. He still owns a share in the house, it is still a marital asset until a financial agreement is finalised.

Your argument isn't unreasonable, but it is far from guaranteed (in E&W, anyway. Scotland is different).