Where to start ?

ladybelle

EdInvestor wrote: »

Thanks Andy

Thus the joint assets would appear to be 380k pension plus 75k(net) property = 455k total, so half each is 227k: if you can arrange to take the full 75k from the property now in cash, that would mean approx 150k would be earmarked from the pension which would double your (basic) state pension when you eventually retire, not too bad, that looks adequate, especially as you have 20 yars to accrue other savings.

Suggest you start charging the kids proper rent and stashing the maintenance money away in the bank so you can increase your savings and have more than 75k to spend on your new home in due course.


Any chance you can get a better job?

I do charge them a lot of rent, I couldnt even afford to live without it. That is part of what worries me in the future, when they leave I will not be able to afford to pay the bills as they are now, let alone possibly the mortgage. His maintenance pays the mortgage currently and some utilities.
I am heartened by your figures, but I dont really understand how it can be so high ? (sorry if I am thick) - he wont have any access to any of this money will he ? so how will I get my hands on £150,000 ?? and if I had money like that, would it all have to go on a pension ? could it go towards a house ? Would mine even have to be sold ?
Because of my disability I cant travel so cant get anywhere else to get a different job. I have already increased it by a day, going from 3 days to 4 days and that has really made me quite ill in trying to cope so not sure how long I can keep doing that.

ladybelle

Andy_L wrote: »

His current pension is worth 29/80ths (years of servce/80)of £32k plus a 3x lump sum ie £11,600/pa (increasing with RPI) plus a £34800 lump sum at the age of 60.
If he leaves that will increase by RPI, if he stays it will increase in line with salary & extra years of servce
So thats worth ca £380k going by Ed's numbers

Is it as high as that as his salary is only this high now ? of course it was a lot lower when he started ?

tanith

Ladybelle I don't understand all the figures either but I think the gist of what Edinvestor and AndyL are saying is that the figures they are giving you are what could be the result of a split of the assets of your marriage including sale of the house giving you some money towards a new property and splitting the pension which would give you extra money for your retirement but you would have to fund some of the money towards the new property yourself...
Your husband is NOT going to keep paying maintainence at the current levels as your children grow up and make their own way in the world...

At worst case scenario if you have to sell the property and rent you may well get help via the benefit system to pay rent at least.. I know that is not what you want but it is a safety net for people on low incomes which it appears you are...

EdInvestor

ladybelle wrote: »

I am heartened by your figures, but I dont really understand how it can be so high ? (sorry if I am thick) - he wont have any access to any of this money will he ?

No. But you can "trade" future assets for a stalke in the house in cash now - indeed it's often done.Make sure you get his pension valued properly.

I had hoped that he would be either forced or agree to pay the mortgage and let me live in the house and I will forego my right to his pension, hence my worries about how I will live in my retirement, if we ever get to that point.

It's possible this could be done, but you would still be reliant on him paying the mortgage, which is a risk.Courts prefer the "clean break" approach.

Other advice has indicated I might get a 70 - 30 share, but if I still lose the house, and end up with say £50,000 I still have to find somewhere to live, and with savings then wont be eligible for any benefits.

Am I right in thinking there is equity of 75k in the house? Could you find a property to buy outright for that (albeit that you might have to live alone)?

If not what would be the minimum you would need to get a place outright?

ladybelle

tanith wrote: »

Ladybelle I don't understand all the figures either but I think the gist of what Edinvestor and AndyL are saying is that the figures they are giving you are what could be the result of a split of the assets of your marriage including sale of the house giving you some money towards a new property and splitting the pension which would give you extra money for your retirement but you would have to fund some of the money towards the new property yourself...
Your husband is NOT going to keep paying maintainence at the current levels as your children grow up and make their own way in the world...

At worst case scenario if you have to sell the property and rent you may well get help via the benefit system to pay rent at least.. I know that is not what you want but it is a safety net for people on low incomes which it appears you are...

He's only been paying since September, my children are adult now. He is paying the mortgage and essential utilities. I had hoped he would pay the mortgage until the end of the mortgage term as I would not get another mortgage on my salary alone. My eldest will not be leaving for at least 3 years and my youngest probably 8 - 10 years.
Having looked at the price of rentals it costs more than struggling to pay to keep this house !! I also understood that you dont get housing benefit if you have savings, so if I had to sell the house I woul dhave some money in the bank so then not eligible for any benefits

ladybelle

EdInvestor wrote: »

No. But you can "trade" future assets for a stalke in the house in cash now - indeed it's often done.Make sure you get his pension valued properly.




It's possible this could be done, but you would still be reliant on him paying the mortgage, which is a risk.Courts prefer the "clean break" approach.



Am I right in thinking there is equity of 75k in the house? Could you find a property to buy outright for that (albeit that you might have to live alone)?

If not what would be the minimum you would need to get a place outright?

The minimum I would need would be a similar amount to what I have now, or just keep this house. There isnt anything around half way decent for the price of this one, most are much more. I would prefer to just keep this house in my name that was why I had thought if I said I would give up my rights to the pension maybe it would match the equity so I could do that.
However I had no idea his pension was worth so much so now that is all different of course.
If I keep this house, I cant afford to pay the mortgage on my own, I cant even pay it with my children paying rent
Isn't he entitled to any of the house or does the fact his pension far outweighs the house mean he loses any of the house ?

ladybelle

EdInvestor wrote: »

No. But you can "trade" future assets for a stalke in the house in cash now - indeed it's often done.Make sure you get his pension valued properly.




It's possible this could be done, but you would still be reliant on him paying the mortgage, which is a risk.Courts prefer the "clean break" approach.



Am I right in thinking there is equity of 75k in the house? Could you find a property to buy outright for that (albeit that you might have to live alone)?

If not what would be the minimum you would need to get a place outright?

forgot to add, how do you ever go about valuing a pension ? He would have to do that would he ?

sleepless_saver

The civil service pension administrators do this on request when a figure is needed to decide on pension sharing etc for divorce. See this leaflet for more info on civil service pensions and divorce.

It might be worth thinking about lodgers when your family move out, working tax credit if you're doing more than 16 hours a week, disabled living allowance if your agoraphobia doesn't improve??

EdInvestor

ladybelle wrote: »

Isn't he entitled to any of the house or does the fact his pension far outweighs the house mean he loses any of the house ?

Assuming your children are grown up, you are both entitled to half the assets which consist of his pension and the net equity in the house, with the former much larger than the latter.How they are split is up to you to negotiate.

In the past often what happened was the wife took the house and the husband the pension because there were dependant children involved who had to be housed.

But that won't apply to you. The problem here is there is so little accessible money.

I fear you may have to reduce your expectations.

jamesd

First you work out the total value of the equity in the house at its current value plus the total value of the pension. Then you two must decide how to split that value. The pension can't be used now but it will provide you pension income later. The equity in the house, possibly plus any savings he has, or some short term (few years) agreement to pay more might get you mortgage free. But becoming free of the mortgage with 75k in mortgage still owed is tough - he may not have the money to arrange it even if he wanted to.

That mortgage difference is why I suggested that you look to see what else is available in that area or in others that could get you closer to mortgage free while you are still married and he can still appear on the mortgage.

It would be great if it was possible in a fairly close area to find a place that you could own without a mortgage. But that requires using the equity plus any savings he may have or as much as possible of his available income for a few years (with him getting more of the pension split in exchange for the extra income paid now).

Council tax and rates will be lower in smaller places but there's the practical difficulty of the children for a few years. Their residence there might be used to set a timetable for trying to become mortgage free so that when there is no longer such an obligation to the children he also ends his obligation to you.

Moving will be hard but moving to a place that is owned would probably be a good security trade, since the mortgage worry would be gone. Benefits could then cover much of the cost of staying in the owned place because the capital value of the property will not count as savings. But finding a place that could be owned will be tough - if it's even possible in the fairly close area.

It may be necessary to move to a cheaper part of the country to achieve the objective of a place that is fully owned and hence secure for you.