Separation 24 March 2022 at 2:52PM in Marriage, relationships & families 9 replies 541 views

HaydenB

Good afternoon all.

Ive read various similar threads but each scenario has differences so here is mine.

My wife and I have decided to separate. We are still on good terms but have taken the decision before we end up hating each other. There is still a chance things will repair themselves in the future but obviously here and now we need to formally protect our own positions and have some space.

We are both named on the mortgage though financially she wont be able to afford to live in the property and has already found somewhere else to live. We cant really sell the house as her parents live in a granny flat on the property and invested their life savings into converting a floor into an appartment for them. Whilst I would happily sell now and draw a line in the sand, I am also happy to continue to live in the house and pay the £11k a year mortgage. I dont want to see her parents struggling for somewhere else to live given they have spent most of their savings but at some point in the future, when we do decide to sell, my wife will quite rightly be due some proceeds from the sale of the property.

Any future split of the property sale would obviously have to take into consideration the mortgage payments and general upkeep of the house I will have been responsible for. What would be the best way to find agreement?

BrassicWoman

I'd be more concerned about you living with her parents long term, than the money...

Are you quite sure you have the living arrangements the right way round?

HaydenB

BrassicWoman said:

I'd be more concerned about you living with her parents long term, than the money...

Are you quite sure you have the living arrangements the right way round?

  as I said, my wife wont be able to afford the mortgage and I get on well with her parents. Though to say they are in the same house, the dwellings are not connected i.e. no staircase and I havent seen them to talk to for around 4 weeks. So its not like we always bump into each other. 

elsien

No deed of trust drawn up when the parents put their savings into the property? 

HaydenB

elsien said:

No deed of trust drawn up when the parents put their savings into the property? 

No, nothing.

Keep_pedalling

HaydenB said:

Any future split of the property sale would obviously have to take into consideration the mortgage payments and general upkeep of the house I will have been responsible for. What would be the best way to find agreement?

It’s not that simple though, you seem to be forgetting the amount of money your in-laws have put into the property. In fairness if you sold  now then they should get their money back plus any increase in the value of their “share”. If you sold after divorce and after the death of your in-laws then it could be argued that you ex should receive more to compensate for no longer being able to inherit her parents life savings.

Frankly your in-laws were exceedingly foolish in doing this without protecting their investment through putting a charge on the property. If for some reason you had to sell now they would struggle to find alternative accommodation and the fact that they have given their life savings away will be looked on as deliberate deprivation of assets so I doubt whether they would qualify for social housing.

You should also keep your fingers crossed that neither of them ever need residential care as again the issue is going to be deliberate deprivation of assets.

HaydenB

I appreciate its not that simple. On the flip side, the house was my parents and they sold it us at a knock down price and also gave us some money back for our renovation.

I should stress though that I am not looking at ever kicking the in laws out. I have an appointment at the solicitors next week where one thing I will be wanting is some sort of contract to offer them some peace of mind. 

Keep_pedalling

HaydenB said:

I appreciate its not that simple. On the flip side, the house was my parents and they sold it us at a knock down price and also gave us some money back for our renovation.

I should stress though that I am not looking at ever kicking the in laws out. I have an appointment at the solicitors next week where one thing I will be wanting is some sort of contract to offer them some peace of mind. 

I was not suggesting that you would throw them out, but people in that situation are vulnerable to unfortunate events such as divorce, bankruptcy or death of the owners of the property they live in, so should always take professional advice before committing their savings. 

tooldle

could your wife take on the mortgage, if her parents were to contribute? I may have misunderstood, did they spend their savings on fitting out their part of the property or, did they purchase a share of the property?

HaydenB

No, between them the mortgage would be too large. And no, they just paid for the works of converting a floor into an apartment.