Advice following separation

Skorp

In 2017 my wife and I sold our house making a healthy profit. My wife used some of an inheritance she received a few years prior to help fund the new property purchase so we didn't need to take out a new mortgage despite upsizing. However just before Xmas and after 16 years of marriage she said it was over.
With little hope of reconciliation she now wants to 'pay me off'. We paid £470k for our property and after deducting her 'inheritance share' of 31% and splitting the remaining mortgage amount she would give me approximately £150k if I sign my name off the deeds and walk away. The house wouldn't need to be sold and all I would pay her is child maintenance.

In my current state of mind I might have nearly agreed to this but friends are shouting NO at me. She claims morally I should have no claim on her inheritance - some of which came from a grandmother and the rest from her late father. She is understandably emotionally attached to her money but I thought marriages were all about partnerships and sharing.

Does anyone know if I am legally entitled to more than she has offered? Would a court decide otherwise? Advice gratefully accepted.

theoretica

How old are the children? How do your wages and pensions compare?


If your wages and pensions are the same then you might be legally granted a larger share - but with a strong likelihood of actually getting anything being delayed until the youngest child is 18.

tacpot12

I think a court could well decide that all her inheritance should be shared, but would you be happy with this if the situation were reversed?

mgdavid

Inheritance becomes part of the marital assets if received before the breakdown & separation. Therefore you are entitled to your share.

If the situation were reversed and you had inherited do you think any woman or solicitor would let you keep it?
(clue - do a search and read similar threads on here!).

gettingtheresometime

mgdavid wrote: »

Inheritance becomes part of the marital assets if received before the breakdown & separation. Therefore you are entitled to your share.

If the situation were reversed and you had inherited do you think any woman or solicitor would let you keep it?
(clue - do a search and read similar threads on here!).

It may be the case that an inheritance is considered part of the pot even after separation- it was in the case of a family member

Skorp

Thanks for the responses. Perhaps she's trying to diddle me. The thing is, I'd be happy with just half the property value. I wouldn't want any additional savings she still has squirrelled away in various accounts.

trailingspouse

Talk. Compromise. It will always be cheaper than using solicitors, so you'll both be better off.

Now that you know what you're entitled to, decide if you think it's right (morally, in your own head). Only you know the answer to that.

kangoora

Morally, it's completely up to you. Legally, what others have said.

You aren't mentioning any other assets apart from savings accounts.

Don't fixate just on the house. You need an agreed financial settlement in which both parties assets are added together and divided equally and, crucially, is signed off as full and final. This includes pensions, savings, joint debts, cars etc. Pensions can have huge value especially if government backed such as NHS, civil service etc.

This could also rebound on you if you are larger wage earner with the better pension in which case it is even more important to get this done as final with no future comeback.

Ideally this could be done by talking to each other but when pension valuations etc become involved it becomes much more complex. I'd advise you to see a solicitor unless you believe it will be straightforward apart from the house.

Given her opening offer and claims you morally have no right to the inheritance money I think you are going to need a solicitor anyway.

Kynthia

What pensions and savings do you each have? Are there children that need to be housed until adulthood? Has one of your earning potential been reduced more by childcare responsibilities than the other and thry would need time before they could develop their skills and earnings? As you can see it's not just as simple as splitting the house equity. You should both get legal advice.