House after divorce 15 years ago

31221 · 12 July 2019 at 1:28AM

Me and my ex husband purchased a house around 25 years ago in 1994, the mortgage was on his name at the time as I had no intention of contributing to that side of things so he made an initial deposit of £60000, the house was worth around £130000 at the time, A few years later in 1997 someone in my family won the lottery and gave me a large amount. I banked privately with Lloyds and drew up a bankers draft of around £70000 (including early repayment fees, etc) to clear off the mortgage.

After our divorce we came to a settlement he could live there with the kids so long as he left it on their names in his will, I didn't fight as I wanted things to be over with ASAP and my kids to have the best (a somewhat good choice since the house had grown 500%+ in value). However it didn't take long for my kids to dislike their father and move in with me, he has little to no contact with them and now faces the prospect of getting married..

Is there anything I can do to get my money/equity in the house back? Or have I left things too late?

pinkshoes · 12 July 2019 at 7:11AM

What was agreed in writing at the time of divorce?

kingfisherblue · 12 July 2019 at 8:11AM

31221 wrote: »

Me and my ex husband purchased a house around 25 years ago in 1994, the mortgage was on his name at the time as I had no intention of contributing to that side of things so he made an initial deposit of £60000, the house was worth around £130000 at the time, A few years later in 1997 someone in my family won the lottery and gave me a large amount. I banked privately with Lloyds and drew up a bankers draft of around £70000 (including early repayment fees, etc) to clear off the mortgage.

After our divorce we came to a settlement he could live there with the kids so long as he left it on their names in his will, I didn't fight as I wanted things to be over with ASAP and my kids to have the best (a somewhat good choice since the house had grown 500%+ in value). However it didn't take long for my kids to dislike their father and move in with me, he has little to no contact with them and now faces the prospect of getting married..

Is there anything I can do to get my money/equity in the house back? Or have I left things too late?

It depends on what was agreed at the time. I'm not sure why you didn't sort this out when he didn't have the children living there any more. Did you have an agreement through a solicitor? Or was it just an informal arrangement?

hazyjo · 12 July 2019 at 9:53AM

Marriage invalidates a will (to the best of my knowledge) so you need to sort this sooner rather than later.

Was it a written agreement or verbal?

How long were you married before separating?

31221 · 12 July 2019 at 3:52PM

It was verbal/informal. I had seen his will before so I had no issue or reason to object, there was no written agreement because the mortgage was on his name, I just didn’t pursue it when asked if I’d be interested as it would mean selling the house there and then.

That’s the issue, the new marriage. I somewhat trust he will leave it to the kids but I’d like to know if I could do something to stop him adding her name or having something in place to prevent her from taking anything. The marriage seems very dodgy as she can hardly speak English, she’s already planning on bringing her family to his house.

If I can get hold of the transaction receipt from the bank showing I paid off the mortgage (45-50% equity), is there anything I can do with this to gain ownership?

WillowCat · 12 July 2019 at 7:58PM

Have you remarried? If not, and you didn't get a financial/court order when you divorced, you are still free to obtain one now.

All the assets both of you have will be on the table, though through negotiation some assets obtained entirely post separation can be disregarded.

Your best bet is to see a solicitor for an initial chat about where you will stand.

elsien · 12 July 2019 at 8:06PM

It really makes no odds what his will says as there's nothing to stop him from selling up and blowing the lot in the interim.
Or having to sell up to pay care home fees in his later years.
If you wanted the children to have their share there were probably better ways of going about it.
You could try the free half hour with a solicitor as the starting point. But you also need to consider what other marital assets there were at the time - your savings as well as his. You can't unilaterally decide which ones are shared and which ones are yours to keep.

11Carrie11 · 16 July 2019 at 3:24PM

I guess you should consult a lawer because I also divorced and I have the same problems. I suppose you can get your money/equity in the house back.

unholyangel · 16 July 2019 at 4:23PM

Did you get a consent order or clean break order at the time you divorced?

House after divorce 15 years ago

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