Wife has left. What should I be paying for?
charlievalentine_2
Posts: 102 Forumite
I hope I have this in the right area. Apologies if not. I am asking for help on behalf of a family member. Any advice appreciated please.
My brother-in-laws wife has left him. She has taken their 11 year old son, bur he will stay with his Dad 3 nights a week. They have a joint mortgage on the property that my brother-in-law now resides in alone and she is renting elsewhere. The house is worth approx £130000 with £70000 still outstanding. She is not contributed to the mortgage. He is contacting the CSA for information on how much he should be paying for maintenance. Divorce has not been discussed yet. She is expecting him to pay to furnish the house she is renting as well as making maintenance payments. She has warned him that he will not be able to stay in the family home much longer. He is hoping to buy her out of the house but will not have the finances for a while yet. So, the questions are:
Besides child maintenance, is there anything else he is legally obliged to pay?
Can she force a sale of the house at this stage?
Are we correct in thinking that if the house had to be sold in the future, she would still be entitled to half of the money despite not paying the mortgage, and is there anything that can be done to keep her share as it currently stands?
Thanks for reading. Again, any advice much appreciated. He is awaiting an appointment with CAB but is very anxious and confused right now.
My brother-in-laws wife has left him. She has taken their 11 year old son, bur he will stay with his Dad 3 nights a week. They have a joint mortgage on the property that my brother-in-law now resides in alone and she is renting elsewhere. The house is worth approx £130000 with £70000 still outstanding. She is not contributed to the mortgage. He is contacting the CSA for information on how much he should be paying for maintenance. Divorce has not been discussed yet. She is expecting him to pay to furnish the house she is renting as well as making maintenance payments. She has warned him that he will not be able to stay in the family home much longer. He is hoping to buy her out of the house but will not have the finances for a while yet. So, the questions are:
Besides child maintenance, is there anything else he is legally obliged to pay?
Can she force a sale of the house at this stage?
Are we correct in thinking that if the house had to be sold in the future, she would still be entitled to half of the money despite not paying the mortgage, and is there anything that can be done to keep her share as it currently stands?
Thanks for reading. Again, any advice much appreciated. He is awaiting an appointment with CAB but is very anxious and confused right now.
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Does the wife work or not and if so, who is the higher earner?Overactively underachieving for almost half a century0
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She has a part time job and he is self employed so although his income varies he is the higher earner.0
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He MAY have to pay spousal support for a short while but the courts will probably only award this for 2 or 3 years to allow the wife time to retrain in order to maximise her earning potential.
Child support would be minimal really wouldn't it? It sounds like they have worked out a shared care agreement so he'll have to pay some, but it'll be reduced with the shared care obviously.
She can force a sale of this house yes. She would be entitled to 50% at least, regardless of whether she's been paying the mortgage or not, it's a marital asset.
He's under no obligation legally to furnish the new home. However, in practice, his son is going to need bedroom furniture etc etc.Overactively underachieving for almost half a century0 -
Thank you very much for your quick response. It is much appreciated and very helpful.0
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AFAIK, the sale of the house cannot be forces if the children live there - but I dont know if 3 days a week qualifies or not. im also not sure sale can be forced if its a seperation not a divorce.
As for sale of the house - she is entitled to 50% of the equity at the time she moved out. Any equity generated after this point shouldn't be effected - though thats ideal. If its for a short time, ie a few months, it will probably be 50% bust. if however its long term it will be taken into account.
Has she left him for someone else? personal I know but it matters. If there is another person involved and she left him, then he shouldnt be responsible for spousal support.
Hes also not responsible for her home or furishings. Depends how comfortable he wants his children to be when there with her I guess.0 -
NotSuchASmugMarriedNow wrote: »He MAY have to pay spousal support for a short while but the courts will probably only award this for 2 or 3 years to allow the wife time to retrain in order to maximise her earning potential.
Child support would be minimal really wouldn't it? It sounds like they have worked out a shared care agreement so he'll have to pay some, but it'll be reduced with the shared care obviously.
She can force a sale of this house yes. She would be entitled to 50% at least, regardless of whether she's been paying the mortgage or not, it's a marital asset.
He's under no obligation legally to furnish the new home. However, in practice, his son is going to need bedroom furniture etc etc.
i doubt that she would get support for herself, when my husband left, i was part time, and i claimed tax credits.0 -
If they are still on reasonable terms I'd advise going to mediation to sort out what both parties feel is fair rather than going through the courts.
If you go through the courts it's the lawyers who win.Make £2018 in 2018 Challenge - Total to date £2,1080 -
charlievalentine wrote: »My brother-in-laws wife has left him..
Correct me if I'm wrong but if it's your brother-in-laws wife, does that not make her your sister?? (Unless it's your sisters ex who has since re-married!!)0 -
I assumed it was his wife's brother's wifewarmhands.coldheart wrote: »Correct me if I'm wrong but if it's your brother-in-laws wife, does that not make her your sister?? (Unless it's your sisters ex who has since re-married!!)
Bulletproof0 -
warmhands.coldheart wrote: »Correct me if I'm wrong but if it's your brother-in-laws wife, does that not make her your sister?? (Unless it's your sisters ex who has since re-married!!)
I'm glad someone else has worked that one out.
Incidentally, the brother-in-law would have ceased to be the brother-in-law at the same time he ceased to be the sister's husband. In such circumstances perhaps one should refer to the 'former brother-in-law' and the 'former brother-in-law's new wife' in order to make things clear.0
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