Divorce settlement

wawi33

My wife and I are going through divorce

She filed for divorce citing separation date of 1st of May 2015

We have complicated financial arrangements and she is using this against me

My parents’ house was registered in her name in 2005 (the days of self-assessed mortgages) jointly with me brother and she is not putting a stake to this house

I also have a friend’s house entirely in my name with mortgage paid which he registered in my name in 2017 as he was bankrupt (and she also acknowledges this is not our asset)

Separate to those 2 house,

We have the family house worth 310K with 240K equity. She is living in the house with our 2 children who are 18 years and 14 years old

We also have a share of in a property jointly with her dad. The property is mortgage free and is worth 110K (so 55K for us and 55K for her dad)

We also in the past 3 years gave a substantial loan to my brother (45K) and her sister (50K) to help them with their house purchases. Both of these loans are aged loans and both my brother and her sister may take years to return the loans

She is asking for the house (240K equity) plus the 50K loan to her sister, so total 290K

She is proposing that I keep my share in the small property (55K and my brother loan 45K) only

She is also insisting on 1200 per month contribution to our 2 children in return for me to have free access to them

I currently live abroad in rented accommodation. I have around 30K savings

We both have good earnings and good jobs

Since the separation in 2015, I made all of the mortgage contributions, over 40K worth of house renovations, paid all household bills, and contributed in excess of 1000 pounds a month to the household expenditure. Plus all holidays I paid for mostly myself (almost 90% of all costs of travel and accommodation)

We have been seeing a mediator and the mediator is taking her side because I earn 3 times as much as she earns.

She is using the 2 properties that we have registered in our names against me, specially my friend’s property which she knows it is not mine at all. And she is using the fact that I started to see someone last year against me.

 

But I still feel the split is very unfair.

For the sake of the kids, I accepted to give her the house with the 240K equity completely and already agreed to transfer it into her sole name. She then asked for the 50K loan to her sister to be paid back to her, and I agreed. But I feel that the loan to my brother is not retrievable and neither is the one to her sister in the short term

 

An ideal split would be for the house to be kept in her name (240K)

I would keep all loans (90K) plus the share in the property with her dad (55K) so total 145K compared to her 240K

 

And make contributions of only 700 pounds per month to the kids so I can start saving again

 

I am not sure how the court will assess the aged personal loans and whether they will consider them as assets in the equation. Also, will my current savings be considered in the split despite the fact that I accumulated these even after the decree nisi?

And how will they view my parents property which is in her name, and also my friends property which is in my name and her father share in the small house as the house is entirely in my name as well?

pphillips

The courts concern is that the marital assets are shared in a fair way, they are not concerned with the legal ownership of the properties or the grounds for the divorce. Although, If you hold property in trust for someone else it would not be considered a marital asset.
The situation with the loans will depend on whether they are enforceable. Factors that will be relevant will include the loan agreement, the size of the loan and any repayments.

wawi33

Thank you very much

pinkshoes

Regarding the £1200 a month she is asking for, if you put your salary into the child support calculator, what does it suggest you will have to pay? 

(Or tell us how much you earn and someone else can calculate this...)

For peace and quiet, I'd be tempted to agree to what she wants. Just move on and have quality time with your kids. Any monthly payment will stop in 4 years time when the youngest is 18. 

conradmum

I agree with Pinkshoes. I was originally going to suggest letting a judge sort it out, but given the complexity of your financial affairs and the willingness of your wife to disregard your savings and what appear to be assets on paper, and include loans that the court may disregard, it would be easier and faster to agree to your wife's terms.This has been dragging on for five years, after all. Don't you want it to be over? Her terms might not seem favourable to you now, but consider where things will be another five years down the track.

Comms69

£1200 for the kids, but one is already 18? So £600 after September or?

"in exchange for free access", they're 14 and 18, literally she has almost zero say in contact split.

unholyangel

wawi33 said:

We have complicated financial arrangements and she is using this against me

I also have a friend’s house entirely in my name with mortgage paid which he registered in my name in 2017 as he was bankrupt (and she also acknowledges this is not our asset)

She is using the 2 properties that we have registered in our names against me, specially my friend’s property which she knows it is not mine at all. And she is using the fact that I started to see someone last year against me. 

Either the asset is yours & would go into the pot for the divorce agreement or you & your friend have potentially committed fraud by making a false declaration you know to be untrue with the intent of someone profiting/causing someone else a loss. The road to hell certainly is paved with good intentions. 

Get legal advice. If your wife is aware of the above (and from what you've said, it seems likely), you can't afford not to. How would you defend your wife stating you own it? Or even her disclosing you only transferred it to avoid your friend losing it in bankrupty? 

Also, the one asset you haven't mentioned yet is pension pots. How do those compare for each of you and what is the proposed split of them? 

Comms69

unholyangel said:

wawi33 said:

We have complicated financial arrangements and she is using this against me

I also have a friend’s house entirely in my name with mortgage paid which he registered in my name in 2017 as he was bankrupt (and she also acknowledges this is not our asset)

She is using the 2 properties that we have registered in our names against me, specially my friend’s property which she knows it is not mine at all. And she is using the fact that I started to see someone last year against me. 

Either the asset is yours & would go into the pot for the divorce agreement or you & your friend have potentially committed fraud by making a false declaration you know to be untrue with the intent of someone profiting/causing someone else a loss. The road to hell certainly is paved with good intentions. 

Get legal advice. If your wife is aware of the above (and from what you've said, it seems likely), you can't afford not to. How would you defend your wife stating you own it? Or even her disclosing you only transferred it to avoid your friend losing it in bankrupty? 

Also, the one asset you haven't mentioned yet is pension pots. How do those compare for each of you and what is the proposed split of them? 

In addition, not paying tax on the rental income. And probably not provided the relevant documents and checks as obligated by law

unholyangel

Comms69 said:

unholyangel said:

wawi33 said:

We have complicated financial arrangements and she is using this against me

I also have a friend’s house entirely in my name with mortgage paid which he registered in my name in 2017 as he was bankrupt (and she also acknowledges this is not our asset)

She is using the 2 properties that we have registered in our names against me, specially my friend’s property which she knows it is not mine at all. And she is using the fact that I started to see someone last year against me. 

Either the asset is yours & would go into the pot for the divorce agreement or you & your friend have potentially committed fraud by making a false declaration you know to be untrue with the intent of someone profiting/causing someone else a loss. The road to hell certainly is paved with good intentions. 

Get legal advice. If your wife is aware of the above (and from what you've said, it seems likely), you can't afford not to. How would you defend your wife stating you own it? Or even her disclosing you only transferred it to avoid your friend losing it in bankrupty? 

Also, the one asset you haven't mentioned yet is pension pots. How do those compare for each of you and what is the proposed split of them? 

In addition, not paying tax on the rental income. And probably not provided the relevant documents and checks as obligated by law

Not so much tax on the rental income (as there's no requirement to charge rent). But I doubt the OP actually purchased it from their friend, let alone at a fair market rate so probably hasn't paid SDLT and probably isn't aware they'll be liable for CGT on the whole value when they transfer it back. And it will be the OP that is liable, not their friend. 

Although I wonder, if a court awards the wife 50% of the friends house plus OP ends up being liable for CGT when disposing (selling or transferring) the property as it's not his main residence, is the friend going to offer to cover those losses for OP? I would guess not given it could be hundreds of thousands of pounds. 

Comms69

unholyangel said:

Comms69 said:

unholyangel said:

wawi33 said:

We have complicated financial arrangements and she is using this against me

I also have a friend’s house entirely in my name with mortgage paid which he registered in my name in 2017 as he was bankrupt (and she also acknowledges this is not our asset)

She is using the 2 properties that we have registered in our names against me, specially my friend’s property which she knows it is not mine at all. And she is using the fact that I started to see someone last year against me. 

Either the asset is yours & would go into the pot for the divorce agreement or you & your friend have potentially committed fraud by making a false declaration you know to be untrue with the intent of someone profiting/causing someone else a loss. The road to hell certainly is paved with good intentions. 

Get legal advice. If your wife is aware of the above (and from what you've said, it seems likely), you can't afford not to. How would you defend your wife stating you own it? Or even her disclosing you only transferred it to avoid your friend losing it in bankrupty? 

Also, the one asset you haven't mentioned yet is pension pots. How do those compare for each of you and what is the proposed split of them? 

In addition, not paying tax on the rental income. And probably not provided the relevant documents and checks as obligated by law

Not so much tax on the rental income (as there's no requirement to charge rent). But I doubt the OP actually purchased it from their friend, let alone at a fair market rate so probably hasn't paid SDLT and probably isn't aware they'll be liable for CGT on the whole value when they transfer it back. And it will be the OP that is liable, not their friend. 

Although I wonder, if a court awards the wife 50% of the friends house plus OP ends up being liable for CGT when disposing (selling or transferring) the property as it's not his main residence, is the friend going to offer to cover those losses for OP? I would guess not given it could be hundreds of thousands of pounds. 

presumebly the friend is paying the mortgage on a BTL. That is rental income.

Accountant_Kerry

Given some of the dubious finances around some of the properties you are going to need her goodwill as such you don’t have a lot of choice but to try and negotiate nicely. I would let her have the house and loan and try and negotiate the child support a bit