Clean break question

Morris29

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help/has experience of similar please? Apologies if this isn’t the correct section to post in.

I’m about to start divorce proceedings and will also have a clean break order. So far we are agreeing on terms etc.

I will remain in the family home, currently the mortgage is in joint names and the mortgage company have said I dont earn enough based on salary multiples to remove my husband from the mortgage. My husband has agreed to stay named on the mortgage for a period of time until our daughter is 16 (or sooner if I pass the mortgage co criteria).

He has agreed that he will not contribute towards payment of the mortgage or be entitled to any equity currently or built up in the property during the time he remains named on the mortgage.

Can this be written into the consent order and is it common that a judge would agree to this? I presume the mortgage company would not need to authorise this agreement?

I’m sure people will have opinions on whether we should do this/why shouldn’t he be entitled etc but this is what we’ve agreed, I’d just like to know if this could be included in the agreement? Many thanks

chesky

It's normal for matters which include the ages of children to last until they're 18 - the end of full-time education excluding university.

Fire_Fox

A judge may refuse to sanction a settlement that is grossly unfair or if the implications have not been properly considered. Uncommon but possible (think domestic abuse/ controlling/ coercive/ manipulative r'ships).

Generally it is wise for each party to take brief legal advice before attending guided mediation (or otherwise agreeing things amicably). That helps show the judge you both know your rights, and are making informed decisions in the best interests of your child.

Your credit histories will be linked by the mortgage: if you are unable to pay (chronic illness/ disability/ job loss) he will be liable for the debt as well as financing his own household. Conversely if he, say, went bankrupt or was injured and needed extended residential care/ rehab, his (previous) assets could still be considered by the court or the welfare state.

If you are listed as joint tenants with land registry you would want to convert to tenants in common, which affects the lender. You would also have to inform them that he is no longer resident which they may be unhappy with. Read the small print on your mortgage agreement.

HTH.

Working_Mum

I am divorced having separated in late 2009 - I had given up a very successful career, moved north and started a small business to work around our (then) 2 small children. My ex-husband had an affair and was desperate for the equity tied up in our home.

The divorce Court Ordered we put the house up for sale - which I complied with but it is a big lump of a house and the financial crash had impacted people's ability to borrow and the bank became very scared about loaning to the self employed.

So here I am 10 years on with the mortgages on my home *still* in joint names with my now ex-husband. I have always paid the mortgage as he is terrible with money (he left me in £90k of debt to one source and another) - he ended up being severely in arrears with his child maintenance so I agreed he could transfer the equity to me in lieu of paying his arrears. We had a simple exchange of letters which detail this.

My main focus when I got divorced was to keep my kids in their home, in their school and connected to all of their family. I have been able to do this with a frugal lifestyle and close budgetting.

I had to trust that my ex-husband wouldn't do anything stupid if he hit on hard times but a solicitor friend guided me through the letter exchange process as I couldn't afford to engage a solicitor. He is now married to the lady he had an affair with and would bet a £ to a pinch of salt she has absolutely no idea that he no longer has equity in his old marital home BUT that really isn't my problem.

My house is currently up for sale and I have it agreed (in our letter exchange) he isn't going to do anything to hold up the sale etc by being slow or asking for money.

Sometimes you just have to do what is pragmatic to get a result.

My advice to anyone getting a divorce is that your solicitor is not your counsellor and you should use them to get you the best fiscal deal possible - grieve the end of your marriage in private, get a counsellor and set an amazing example to your children!

Good luck!

System

Morris29 wrote: »

He has agreed that he will not contribute towards payment of the mortgage or be entitled to any equity currently or built up in the property during the time he remains named on the mortgage.

Can this be written into the consent order and is it common that a judge would agree to this? I presume the mortgage company would not need to authorise this agreement?

Really, if you're on the mortgage you need to be living there. Personally, I wouldn't want to be on a mortgage and be at risk of someone (you for example) not paying and then I'm liable. If I was willing to keep my name on it, I would want recompence for this risk, i.e. some more of the equity.


If his name was kept on the mortgage, he would be entitled AT THE VERY LEAST to the increase in his portion that he paid whilst living there.

Gavin83

Morris29 wrote: »

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help/has experience of similar please? Apologies if this isn’t the correct section to post in.

I’m about to start divorce proceedings and will also have a clean break order. So far we are agreeing on terms etc.

I will remain in the family home, currently the mortgage is in joint names and the mortgage company have said I dont earn enough based on salary multiples to remove my husband from the mortgage. My husband has agreed to stay named on the mortgage for a period of time until our daughter is 16 (or sooner if I pass the mortgage co criteria).

He has agreed that he will not contribute towards payment of the mortgage or be entitled to any equity currently or built up in the property during the time he remains named on the mortgage.

Can this be written into the consent order and is it common that a judge would agree to this? I presume the mortgage company would not need to authorise this agreement?

I’m sure people will have opinions on whether we should do this/why shouldn’t he be entitled etc but this is what we’ve agreed, I’d just like to know if this could be included in the agreement? Many thanks

He'll almost certainly need to seek legal advice on this. While you haven't said what else has been agreed the solicitor will almost certainly push for him to claim what he's entitled to and signing over the value of a property while remaining liable for it is a terrible deal. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he changes his mind.

Ultimately though if both parties agree to a deal then it'll go through.

In terms of the mortgage company you need to check your contract. It's quite possible they might not allow someone to be on the mortgage who has no equity or link to the property.

Morris29

Thank you for the replies. We have lived in the property less than 1yr so probably no equity built up. Deposit was around £30k of which we saved for and paid together. The agreement is he keeps the pension and I keep the house (and will be paying all bills/mortgage etc myself).

comeandgo

Morris29 wrote: »

Thank you for the replies. We have lived in the property less than 1yr so probably no equity built up. Deposit was around £30k of which we saved for and paid together. The agreement is he keeps the pension and I keep the house (and will be paying all bills/mortgage etc myself).

You seem to be holding all the risk if for some reason your property value tumbles and you end up with negative equity.

Mnd

comeandgo wrote: »

You seem to be holding all the risk if for some reason your property value tumbles and you end up with negative equity.

And the advantage of any future rise in house prices. When I divorced I held onto the house, still mortgaged, but I was lucky that due to redundancy payout me ex wife was abe to take an equivalent cash sum.

System

comeandgo wrote: »

You seem to be holding all the risk if for some reason your property value tumbles and you end up with negative equity.

It might do this, however it will recover.

System

Morris29 wrote: »

Thank you for the replies. We have lived in the property less than 1yr so probably no equity built up. Deposit was around £30k of which we saved for and paid together. The agreement is he keeps the pension and I keep the house (and will be paying all bills/mortgage etc myself).

That's easy then. Take the value of the house when you bought it and find out what percentage of the deposit was of this.


For example, if the house was 120K, and the deposit was 30K, that's 25% of the value.


When you come to sell or take his name off the mortgage, you get three valuations and take an average. Say in this case it's now 180K, 25% of 180k is 45K. Half of 45K is the number you need to pay him.