Pre separation/divorce agreement???

s4uch1e

After 29years of marriage my wife has decided she wants to leave me, she has applied to the local council for housing which I'm sure will take forever so we are currently staying in the same property. 

Just wondering if we can make a legally binding agreement before waiting on divorce agreement???

There are houses, which are in my name and cash in both a joint bank account and one in my name with our 2 adult children.2 vehicles. Also we live in Scotland (incase it makes any legal difference).

I'm not looking for advice on how to get one over on her as I'm happy to give her what she wants, but at same time this has been a bit of a shock to me and i don't want too lose everything.
just want to know if we can legally agree on who gets what without waiting on divorce 

Thanx

justwhat

just go to a solicitor and get them to draw something up. It can be all more or less settled before the divorce decree. Cant see the council housing your wife.

 She will be very low priority unless there are issues.eg disability , homeless, in danger etc.

Your wife's house needs may be a major issue. Can she not just have one of the other houses?

s4uch1e

Unfortunately not as one bought for daughter,  other one bought fir son and finally other one bought for my father. Think she will have to say she homeless as no other issues

wilfred30

After such a long marriage, I think it would normally be a 50/50 split of all your marital assets so that will, presumably, include the other houses regardless of who happens to be living in them.

T.T.D

Class everything as 50/50 from here on in for now:

Houses you own (can be tricky when relatives live in them)

Pensions

Savings Accounts

Investments

General Banking Accounts

Bonds

Shares.

And account for every withdrawal from a joint account.

Vehicles. 

Sorting through what can easily be divvied up between you pair now can make things easier later. 

As for council Housing, that’s pretty much a non starter, which begs the question, can she realistically go into a private rented accommodation if you can pay under spousal maintenance until the divorce is sorted?

 

wilfred30

s4uch1e said:

Unfortunately not as one bought for daughter,  other one bought fir son and finally other one bought for my father. Think she will have to say she homeless as no other issues

She's not homeless, she's living in your marital home which she is perfectly entitled to do and she doesn't have to leave.  If she does, she will be considered intentionally homeless so the council wouldn't help her anyway.

As you own four houses between you, is the plan to have two each?  Presumably, she could have the two that your children are living in and you could keep the marital home and the house your father lives in (all dependent upon the relative valuations of course).

I echo the suggestion for the two of you to go to a solicitor and get them to draw up a legally binding agreement whilst waiting for your divorce.

justwhat

Why don't you move out?
As others have said she will be entitled to 50% of everything.

If you want to "part" with less then i would do some swift negotiation.

You also say properties were "bought for"...how long ago and who owns the legal title?

Really its a case of negotiating and agreeing. Council housing is a non starter. 

This could get messy a divorce lawyer gets there teeth into it. 

tacpot12

justwhat said:

....
This could get messy a divorce lawyer gets there teeth into it. 

Agreed. I can see her lawyer walking away with one house and her another one! Trying to agree a settlement is ALWAYS the best way. Use solicitors as little as possible, ideally just to draw up a legally binding verion of what you have already agreed, and to make sure that your wife isn't agreeing to something that is fundamentally unfair to her.

BrassicWoman

s4uch1e said:

I'm not looking for advice on how to get one over on her as I'm happy to give her what she wants, but at same time this has been a bit of a shock to me and i don't want too lose everything.


Thanx

I am guessing she does not want to be homeless. What is the actual proposal? After 29 years the starting point is 50% of everything. Anything else is indeed "getting one over on her."

elsien

You live in with your father and she keeps the house you are both currently living in. 

Then unless the houses bought for children have been gifted to them, you each get one each of those. 

Then onto the pensions…..

With 4 houses as marital assets then she’d be laughed out of the council building if she tried to claim homelessness. 

alligin

To answer the original question:

Just wondering if we can make a legally binding agreement before waiting on divorce agreement???

Yes.

In Scotiand you can draw up a 'Minute of Agreement' that can be binding on death or divorce.

It is critical that both parties take independent legal advice.

Then, assuming that has been done, when a divorce is petitioned, a Sherriff will review the document. If the Sherriff is satisfied that it is fair and that children are provided for, then nothing further will be needed.