Advice on my predicament please - ex partner and joint mortgaged property

baseline1988

I am in a toxic relationship at the moment and have asked my ex wife to buy me out of the house so i can move out.  I currently pay all the mortgage and bills.  She has under cut me and told me to accept her offer or force sale. 

I don't want to force sale if i can help it based on how much the legal fees would be and not knowing the guaranteed outcome of it all plus i dont mind her having the house as i have decorated it all and we have a 6 month old as well even though this was my house before i met her and added her name.

My position at the moment is to just stay put and not leave unless she agrees to buy me out as i cannot leave the house as i have no where else to go while paying the bills.  I have asked her now to start contributing at least half towards the mortgage but i dont think that will happen so not sure.

Any advice is appreciated as the environment i am living in is not great.

Thank you

Mark_d

This was your house before you me your ex wife and you pay all the mortgage and bills, so your ex wife doesn't have much of a claim to the house.  Isn't this kind of thing sorted out by your divorce lawyers?

beckstar1975

Sorry to hear this but @Mark_d is not correct. Unless you've only been married for a v v short amount of time normally the starting point would be 50/50 in divorce proceedings when splitting assets (though it's the start not the end point).

You really need some specialist advice though - your situation sounds tricky and if your ex is on maternity leave a bit harder still. 

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/homelessness/free_legal_advice_family_law has some useful advice and sign-posting but really it sounds like you should try and find the money where possible and spend it on an initial consultation with a divorce/family lawyer. 

If forcing a sale would render the child homeless or make it difficult for either partner to find somewhere else to live the court can issue mesher orders that means the house sale would be deferred as it would be in the child's best interests. So the ex may not be able to force a sale before then.

Best of luck

Mark_d

@beckstar1975 is only partially correct here.  Whilst the starting point is 50/50, you have a lot of evidence against that

beckstar1975

Mark_d said:

@beckstar1975 is only partially correct here.  Whilst the starting point is 50/50, you have a lot of evidence against that

No way enough evidence for that statement

Mark_d

beckstar1975 said:

Mark_d said:

@beckstar1975 is only partially correct here.  Whilst the starting point is 50/50, you have a lot of evidence against that

No way enough evidence for that statement

Owning the property to start with, paying all mortgage and bills, doing the maintenance...That's plenty evidence why the house should not be split 50/50.

In my case, whilst the property initially belonged to me, my spouse and I split all costs 50/50.  We have been married over 20 years.  So the default 50/50 split would be deemed reasonable.

beckstar1975

Because you don't know the other side's situation, and both sides are taken into account. If the woman gave up work to enable the man to work/get pregnant/have a child then this is recognised legally. Also no mention of other assets including pensions.

Your experience is yours, not universal

baseline1988

Thank you guys for responding.

I added her name on good faith half way through being married (we are not married civil by the way) and didnt ask for her to pay anything towards the equity at the time.  (dumb mistake i know).

The house was mine shared with a daughter from my first marriage.

Now the daughter cannot stay in this house due to the situation but i wont bore you all with these details as its really upsetting.

My current wife is very toxic and i am just learning to ignore and get on with work etc and be there for my new daughter where possible but living under the same roof.

To be honest, i dont mind taking a hit and just taking what i feel i am owed split equally and moving forward.  However as always as its not on her terms, she has just left it now as do what you need to do.

Is there a way of making her contribute half towards the mortgage at this moment in time?

Emmia

baseline1988 said:

Thank you guys for responding.

I added her name on good faith half way through being married (we are not married civil by the way) and didnt ask for her to pay anything towards the equity at the time.  (dumb mistake i know).

The house was mine shared with a daughter from my first marriage.

Now the daughter cannot stay in this house due to the situation but i wont bore you all with these details as its really upsetting.

My current wife is very toxic and i am just learning to ignore and get on with work etc and be there for my new daughter where possible but living under the same roof.

To be honest, i dont mind taking a hit and just taking what i feel i am owed split equally and moving forward.  However as always as its not on her terms, she has just left it now as do what you need to do.

Is there a way of making her contribute half towards the mortgage at this moment in time?

What do you mean by "not married civil"

Is this a "common law" marriage? Or not legally registered in some way, because that changes the situation considerably.

gwynlas

If you are not legally married in this country then she is not your wife simply the mother of your baby with no legal right to the property.

Is her name on the mortgage?

silvercar

OP has said that he put his ex partner on the deeds, so we can presume the mortgage as well.

Was any deed drawn up at the time? This should state if it is owned as tenants in common or joint tenants.