Transfer of Equity - completed but can I be challenged later down the line?

super125

My ex recently transferred his share of the equity in our family home to me. I always said I would try and provide a sum of money informally so he could get a mortgage of his own as we share custody of our children. I know I should have done this formally as part of the transfer of equity but speed was of the essence and I just wanted the transfer done. At the time he just wanted out to be with his affair partner but that has not worked out and now he is full of remorse but there is no going back. It was all completed via a solicitor.

I now have 20K to give him and he has assured me that will be the end of the matter. I spoke with my solicitor today and she said the house is now 100% legally mine but as I wanted to now transfer a sum of money it is possible that they may muddy the waters and suggested I talk to the family law team but would not really elaborate on why this might be. It is £275 for a consultation but I don’t want to waste money if all they will tell me is that the house is now mine and if I transfer a sum of money it is not a legal matter.

has anyone been challenged after a legal transfer of equity? – I wonder if he may say he was not fully aware of what he was doing, or had no idea that his equity was worth much more than the 20K I am now proposing to give him etc etc

or, has anyone used a solicitor to transfer a sum of money in this way and possibly I could get him to sign something to the effect that it is now the end of the matter etc My current intention is to transfer the money and send an email to him with family members copied in and he agrees that this is a one off payment which draws a line under the matter. 

Gavin83

How much was the difference in his portion of the equity and the £20k he received? You mention a solicitor, did he consult with one too?

I assume not based on the wording in your post but were you married?

super125

hi - no we never married. He chose not to consult a solicitor. The difference would be about 50K

AskAsk

i would listen to your solicitor and pay the fee to get this done formally so there will be no come back.  people have a habit of breaking promises and the last you will hear about this may not always turn out to be the last word on it.

TBagpuss

It would be wise for you to have a separation agreement drawn up to avoid any later claims. 
There are a couple of potential issues.
1 is that if he were to become bankrupt his trustees might seek to set aside the transaction on the basis it was at an undervalue, to recover the funds to pay his debts. I believe that the the time limit for this is 5 years (i.e. of he were to be made bankrupt within 5 years of the date of the transaction) 
the second is that he could himself seek to make a claim, asserting that the £20K was only a payment on account, not in full satisfaction of any claims, and that he still had a beneficial claim against the property. Whether or not he would succeed would of course depend on what evidence you could each provide as to any agreement, but were he to make a claim you would potentially incur significant legal costs and whole if you won you might be able to claim these from him, that wouldn't help if he didn't have the assets to cover them, at that time. 
If you are currently agreed, then spending a few hundred pounds to have a formal agreement drawn up is well worth the money.

gettingtheresometime

The other thing to ask the solicitor is that if you give him £20K would it be seen for IHT purposes, should the unthinkable happen, as a gift. Your estate may not even be big enough for IHT even to be an issue but I'd want all angles covered.
The other thing you should get sorted, if you haven't already, is a will.