Buying husband out

annabananana

I’m not if this is the correct forum but could anyone offer any advice.  I want to buy husband out but he wants 50% of The equity.  We have a daughter and he earns considerably more.  I feel 50% is unfair.  Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thanks.

pphillips

Are you going through a divorce?
Have you been through mediation yet?
What about the other marital assets such as investments and pensions?

annabananana

No divorce as yet.  Not been through mediation either.  We both have savings but I don’t know how much he has and he doesn’t know how much I have.  I don’t have a pension and not sure if he does.  He used to.

comeandgo

I suggest you see a lawyer.  You need to be able to put a value on all assets before you sell and split the equity.

pphillips

Don't put the cart before the horse. Divorce petition comes first, then mediation and financial disclosure.
Pension likely to be a marital asset if he paid in during the marriage, so potential for offsetting against the home.
Equality is only a starting point. Here are a list of factors from section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 that are relevant in deciding what is a fair financial settlement, the first consideration being given to the welfare while a minor of any child of the family who has not attained the age of eighteen:

(a)the income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources which each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future, including in the case of earning capacity any increase in that capacity which it would in the opinion of the court be reasonable to expect a party to the marriage to take steps to acquire;

(b)the financial needs, obligations and responsibilities which each of the parties to the marriage has or is likely to have in the foreseeable future;

(c)the standard of living enjoyed by the family before the breakdown of the marriage;

(d)the age of each party to the marriage and the duration of the marriage;

(e)any physical or mental disability of either of the parties to the marriage;

(f)the contributions which each of the parties has made or is likely in the foreseeable future to make to the welfare of the family, including any contribution by looking after the home or caring for the family;

(g)the conduct of each of the parties, if that conduct is such that it would in the opinion of the court be inequitable to disregard it;

(h)in the case of proceedings for divorce or nullity of marriage, the value to each of the parties to the marriage of any benefit which, by reason of the dissolution or annulment of the marriage, that party will lose the chance of acquiring.

ST1991

I have been through this - divorce and then buying him out of the house.
Divorce came first, at which point our ownership was changed to joint tenants/tenants in common (whichever one means you own equal shares... not you both own it fully). We had no other financial ties to eachother except the house, so it was fairly simple.

We wanted rid of eachother, to be perfectly honest.
The house was up for sale for over a year and fell through twice after surveys. It is an old house, and at the time he was living here on his own. It already needed some TLC, but the way he was here alone was like no-one was living here... i don't think he was heating it, ventilating it... it just got gross, lots of things got broken through lack of care... which obviously put lots of people off. As selling was out of the picture, the other option was auction (and potentially lose alot...)
I wanted to buy him out for a penny because he previously offered to buy me out for an insulting amount as it was 'what i deserved' for leaving him. That's a different story...
In the end, we both started at what we wanted (me low-balling and him being greedy) and we met somewhere in the middle. This means he did not get the full equity against 'market value' - BUT, that he wouldn't have to wait months and months until it somehow eventually sold or potentially lose money at auction. It was a win-win.

I had to remortgage with the additional amount to pay to him, as i had no savings - so it is worth checking you can afford the mortgage on your own (in the eyes of the bank!) first, too.

Comms69

annabananana said:

I’m not if this is the correct forum but could anyone offer any advice.  I want to buy husband out but he wants 50% of The equity.  We have a daughter and he earns considerably more.  I feel 50% is unfair.  Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thanks.

Well how do you own the property? Chances are he owns 50%, so why is 50% unfair?

pphillips

Comms69 said:

annabananana said:

I’m not if this is the correct forum but could anyone offer any advice.  I want to buy husband out but he wants 50% of The equity.  We have a daughter and he earns considerably more.  I feel 50% is unfair.  Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thanks.

Well how do you own the property? Chances are he owns 50%, so why is 50% unfair?

Doesn't matter how property is owned, read the thread, equality and fairness is not always the same.