Late Parents Divorce Financial Settlement

TBagpuss

If you have a copy of the decree absolute that should enable you to track down the financial order, as the same case number would be used for both. 
The Absolute would normally say which court the divorce was made by,  although after 40 years any records would be held by the central registry, not a local court. 

I am not sure how long they keep them for, but it is worth asking. 

It is very unlikely that the original solicitors would have kept the file - solicitors are not required to keep files and most will destroy them after 6-15 years . I presume your mum hadn't kept a copy of the order anywhere? 

magpie

TBagpuss said:

If you have a copy of the decree absolute that should enable you to track down the financial order, as the same case number would be used for both. 
The Absolute would normally say which court the divorce was made by,  although after 40 years any records would be held by the central registry, not a local court. 

I am not sure how long they keep them for, but it is worth asking. 

It is very unlikely that the original solicitors would have kept the file - solicitors are not required to keep files and most will destroy them after 6-15 years . I presume your mum hadn't kept a copy of the order anywhere? 

 Thank you for the advice. I do have a copy of the decree absolute and this was passed to my solicitor at the beginning. I am assuming they have tried to track this down without luck and this is why I keep on being asked for it. I have looked for it, however it is not amongst her correspondence. So it seems to be a stalemate and I do not know how to move forward

Marcon

magpie said:

 Thank you for the advice. I do have a copy of the decree absolute and this was passed to my solicitor at the beginning. I am assuming they have tried to track this down without luck and this is why I keep on being asked for it. I have looked for it, however it is not amongst her correspondence. So it seems to be a stalemate and I do not know how to move forward

That's what you are hiring your solicitor to advise on. What do they have to say?

magpie

Marcon said:

magpie said:

 Thank you for the advice. I do have a copy of the decree absolute and this was passed to my solicitor at the beginning. I am assuming they have tried to track this down without luck and this is why I keep on being asked for it. I have looked for it, however it is not amongst her correspondence. So it seems to be a stalemate and I do not know how to move forward

That's what you are hiring your solicitor to advise on. What do they have to say?

Hi, Here is my solicitors reply when I asked for update regarding the caution "Unfortunately they are not agreeing to remove it. We need a copy of the divorce ancillary/financial court order to determine whether he has any interest in the property". There was nothing further in his email.
I have said I do not have a copy. I am just repeating myself and that is why I am asking for advice on this forum as to what should be happening in order for me to request the next step, whatever that may be, to bring a resolution. I will be contacting him with all the advice/questions that members have posed on this forum. I am totally ignorant in matters like this and therefore need to be asking the correct questions. 

Brynsam

magpie said:

That's what you are hiring your solicitor to advise on. What do they have to say?

I have said I do not have a copy. I am just repeating myself and that is why I am asking for advice on this forum as to what should be happening in order for me to request the next step, whatever that may be, to bring a resolution. I will be contacting him with all the advice/questions that members have posed on this forum. I am totally ignorant in matters like this and therefore need to be asking the correct questions. 

No - your solicitor should be telling you what you need to know, not hoping you'll 'ask the right questions'. Relaying random questions from a random bunch of strangers is a recipe for putting up your own legal costs. You are consulting your solicitor because this is uncharted territory for you, and you need to ask your solicitor what happens next if the settlement can't be found. If they can't come up with an action plan, maybe another solicitor with broader/more relevant experience is going to be a better bet? 

Marcon

Brynsam said:

magpie said:

That's what you are hiring your solicitor to advise on. What do they have to say?

I have said I do not have a copy. I am just repeating myself and that is why I am asking for advice on this forum as to what should be happening in order for me to request the next step, whatever that may be, to bring a resolution. I will be contacting him with all the advice/questions that members have posed on this forum. I am totally ignorant in matters like this and therefore need to be asking the correct questions. 

No - your solicitor should be telling you what you need to know, not hoping you'll 'ask the right questions'. 

Quite. Let the solicitor do their job. There are really only two questions: where does your solicitor suggest you look for this, given you don't have a copy readily to hand? and what happens if it can't be found? If there isn't a satisfactory answer, then ask them to refer you to someone who can move things on.

xylophone

Your late father died intestate and unmarried. If he had been entitled  to an  interest in your mother's property, then this would have been an asset of his estate.

On the basis that his children (or if deceased their children) would have inherited any assets, you yourself would  have been entitled to a share of this interest (if it existed).

This in itself would dilute your half brother's claim.

With regard to the claim itself, you stated that the original caution related to your mother's remarriage and/ or   sale of the property. Did it apply only to a sale in your mother's lifetime?

Manxman_in_exile

Forgive my ignorance everybody, but how would the half brother be able to establish any sort of claim against the property if they were only born 20 years after the divorce - a divorce in which the OP's mum had the house transferred to her so the father no longer had an interest?  Or is a copy of the financial settlement needed to prove that the house was in fact 100% transferred to mum?

(Surely this is a scenario that must happen quite frequently?  It only takes a - perhaps - bitter and vindictive former spouse to invent a spurious interest in a former marital home to wreak all manner of havoc - up to 40 years later!)

xylophone

a divorce in which the OP's mum had the house transferred to her so the father no longer had an interest?  

It appears to be the case that while the OP's mother was indeed "sole proprietor", there was some sort of agreement that if she were to remarry or sell the property, her ex spouse would be entitled to a payment of a certain amount from the proceeds.

magpie

xylophone said:

Your late father died intestate and unmarried. If he had been entitled  to an  interest in your mother's property, then this would have been an asset of his estate.

On the basis that his children (or if deceased their children) would have inherited any assets, you yourself would  have been entitled to a share of this interest (if it existed).

This in itself would dilute your half brother's claim.

With regard to the claim itself, you stated that the original caution related to your mother's remarriage and/ or   sale of the property. Did it apply only to a sale in your mother's lifetime?

The original caution did not relate to my mothers remarriage etc. It was the assumption of a well intentioned family member who  thought they remembered it. It was in fact a caution put on by legal aid claimed by my father. It has now been cleared and removed. I am now wondering if their memory relates to something in the divorce final court order. My solicitor is now writing to my half brothers solicitor asking if they have requested a copy of the divorce final court order. He has advised me that from whatever angle we approach this, if it has to go to litigation, all the judge will be interested in is the divorce final court order.
I also mentioned to my solicitor your earlier point about intestacy. Thank you