Can i gift money to my son

Helpme70

I wont go into all the long details, I will give an overview. My husband is in the matrimonial home ( which is in his name). I have a house that I had before we met and has not been the matrimonial home, I had the house 15 yrs+ before we met and is and always has been in my sole name, this house in the process of being sold, it is just about to complete. I am living with my son as I have nowhere else to go / live. I need to know if I can gift the money from the sale of my house to my son so that should we divorce my husband cannot have a claim on it? I have been left with 30k of debt in my name for the updates we did to the marital home as my husband is in some sort of IVA and I will struggle to pay for another home and pay those debts so I want to be able to secure my future 

AskAsk

your situation sounds complicated.  it would appear that you are getting a divorce?

how old is your son and when did you buy the matrimonal home?

divorce split of assets is complex and it starts out at 50/50 but from what i had read, assets owned before the marriage may be protected from the divorce as the assets are split acrrued during marriage.

if i were you, i would pay for a solicitor to give you advice as to what is the best route to protect your assets.  giving the money to your son may not be the best route for a divorce that has already started, and you would lose control of the money and have to trust your son and/or his spouse.

TBagpuss

Short answer, probably now. Or rather, a court can decide that you chose to dissipate house proceeds, and then calculate a settlement between you on the basis that you've still got them. 

If you haven't done so already, register your matrimonial home rights over the house. 
How much equity is there in the house, and how does this compare with the level of debt your husband has?  How much equity is there in your house? 

maxsteam

You can complete the divorce on the grounds that you have been separated for two years when this point is reached. Getting the divorce and agreeing a financial settlement are not the same thing.

Your husband will know about "your" house and he can easily find out how much it sells for. He has a claim on that money just as you have a claim on "his" house. It's possible that you will have lots of discussions and arbitration meetings before finally deciding that he keeps his house and you keep your house (or the proceeds). The starting point for the discussions will be a 50:50 split of all the assets and debts (including the mortgages), but this is just the starting point. You will argue that he pays more than half the £30k debts and he will argue that he should not. It could be a lengthy process reaching a financial settlement and, if your husband believes that he will benefit from delaying, he may delay. However, if he has financial problems, there may not be much to share out anyway.

Gifting the sale proceeds to your son will have no bearing on the divorce situation. I feel that you would be better using those funds to secure somewhere else where you can live for the next few years and/or keeping on top of the debts. It's worth seeking professional advice.

Keep_pedalling

You cannot secure your future by giving all your asset# away, you need professional advice. See a solicitor about a divorce ASAP.

gettingtheresometime

if you haven't got one already I'd strongly suggest you get a will; if you have check it's still relevant