Advice forum

I met my husband 21 years ago and moved into his house after a few months. I was still a student at the time so didn’t contribute to the mortgage until roughly 12 months later when I got a full time job. We then split the bills 50:50 as we earned similar amounts. There was approx £50k left on the mortgage when I started contributing. We got married 15 years ago. After the mortgage was paid off we got another mortgage for £50k for an extension. This has also been paid off and we are mortgage free. Important note to make is that the house deeds are solely in husband’s name! Even the extension mortgage was in his name but we both contributed fairly equally (I paid proportionally less during maternity leaves from work). We have 3 children. 10, 8 and 8. If we were to divorce, what would happen to the house? Would I have any legal rights to stay in the house? I currently work from home, would this have any impact on me staying in the house? If I have to leave, would I be entitled to any equity? TIA

Laura at 23.09.2024 19:08:34

350

My wife and I are separated we live in her 1st husband’s marital home, the house is solely in her name! We’ve been living together for 12yrs, married for 6. I have contributed during all that time. I had to move out in January, and now she has put the house in the market! Am I entitled to any settlement??

Les at 08.07.2024 13:57:06

310

Hi there My ex-fiancé and I separated after the birth of our second child 6 years ago. Out of the blue last year he said he’s no longer paying his half of the mortgage. He’s unwilling to sell, refuses to put a declaration of trust in place for when we do sell and I can’t afford to buy him out. The mortgage is now in arrears, he doesn’t answer any communications from the bank. I was supported previously by Women’s Aid as the relationship was abusive and sadly this is just another form of abuse that he’s doing. If he’s no longer contributing to the mortgage and I live at the property with our children is there anything I can do to have him removed from the mortgage? Any advice greatly appreciated.

Charlotte at 03.07.2024 17:50:34

343

I own my own house with my sister- we are joint tenants in common. I live in the house with my wife and 2 children and my sister. My sister will pass on her share to her son (my nephew) when she dies. Hypothetically, if he was to get married and later divorce, what would happen to the house as I own half of it and he would own half of it. Can we still stay there and is there way I can prevent the house getting involved in divorce settlements etc

Peter at 30.06.2024 18:10:38

280

I'm very confused by the process. Especially when i need to sort out my finances, I've read that I need to start sorting this out with the ex immediately and also around half way through??

Penny at 25.03.2024 9:14:20

774

Hi, I’m looking for advice on how to word the cohabitation clause in my dissolution agreement. I can not afford to lose my spousal support but I want to be able to have a boyfriend that spends a few nights a week over at my house with us not financially supporting each other. How should that clause written?

Carol at 22.03.2024 19:39:13

824

My wife left the marital home to live with her new partner. She is now making demands on selling the property and cash settlements. We haven’t started divirce proceedings as yet. Even at 50/50 split I won’t be able to afford to buy my home.

Alan at 23.01.2024 15:17:32

318

Hi, Does anyone know how long you have to apply to set aside a financial order after the final hearing? My final hearing was last Monday. I don't feel happy with the settlement although we agreed it within half an hour of arriving at court. The reason I agreed so quickly to my ex's offer was because his solicitor landed a schedule of costs on my barrister at 10pm the night before the hearing, threatening another £26k of costs against me. I felt pressured by this as I only heard about it when I walked into court that morning. I now know this should have been served at least 24 hours before the hearing in order to give me time to make submissions and consider it. The main reason I am unhappy with the settlement is that my ex refused to have his business valued and as I didn't have a solicitor I didn't know how to officially apply for that. I have emails from him where he states a potential value of the company between £200k-£400k two years ago when we separated and also states I had a 25% share in it. In his court documents he lied about how long we had been separated and claimed his business was a non-matrimonial asset when in fact for 7 years I supported him and the business while he worked evenings, weekends, school holidays and I took care of the kids and house and everyting else. This was going to form part of my evidence at the hearing but I felt so threatened by the potential costs order that I agreed too quickly. Does anyone think I have a chance of getting the order set aside if I provide all evidence to back this up? And how long do I have to do this please? Many thanks

Joanne at 01.08.2023 14:45:17

1049

How long does it take to get a consent order?

Ella at 25.07.2023 9:36:08

585

Scenario: A couple is getting a legal seperation and as part of the marriage settlement agreement, one party keeps the house and pays the other party out their equity in cash. Question: If the separation is revoked, and the marriage is maintained, what happens to the Marriage Settlement Agreement if the party that got paid out their equity in cash no longer has that cash? As if the couple reconciles and ends the separation, their assets are shared again. So, the party is half owner of the house again and the other party is basically out the equity they paid out?

Sebastian at 26.06.2023 23:54:47

921

House is worth £700,000 with equity of £600,000. Further joint savings of £450000. Both always worked full time. Husband earns £45,000. Wife earns £250,000. 3 children. Custody will be 50-50. What would a fair settlement be?

Emma at 05.06.2023 7:29:11

1160

Can I put my house into a trust before divorce settlement discussions start

shaun O'Connor at 22.05.2023 4:18:47

969

I am currently going through divorce we are trying to settle before the court date, I had to leave the marital home due to abuse and left with minimal items, all four children are 50/50 between both houses, the house is to be split 50/50, when I left I was given £15k this was used to furnish the house and secure a rental property. My ex took out a mortgage holiday and made £3k on the family car and kept all that money I asked for only £7.5k to be taken from my share of the equity and not the full £15k is that fair and correct? I also do not pay towards the mortgage but I never did anyway I stayed home with the children when I moved out and started working that money was used to house my kids and myself.

Stacey at 03.02.2023 7:58:14

1202

We applied for our no fault divorce in May. How long does it take to get the conditional order back from court?

Ryan at 06.12.2022 10:07:32

1504

I can see you don’t cover Scotland (and it’s not in your drop down list of countries to wait on…). Any suggestions for a similar service up here?

Lucy at 31.07.2022 14:28:54

1828

my daughter has decree nisi and wants to have decree absolute after aprox 5 years .Has she left it too late?

Lindsay at 21.07.2022 15:39:16

1877

How long does a no-fault divorce take in England? Any way I can speed it up?

Nigel at 15.07.2022 14:38:39

1684

Hello, I am 32yr old Indian, married in Jan 2021 in the UK. My partner is on Tier-2 visa and I am on dependent visa. Due to various reasons I have decided to file a divorce in 1st week of Jan 2022, exactly one year after our marriage. I have a job offer in Canada and I am asked to join in Feb 2022. As I hold Canada PR, I can work in Canada. Now my question is: Can I move out of country while the divorce process is going on in the UK court? If I move to Canada, am I expected to travel to UK during court proceedings? During the divorce process, can I still use dependent visa to travel in and out of UK, if required? What options do I have and how does it work? Any help and guidance from you will be of great help. Many thanks. Thanks, Satya

Satya at 27.12.2021 2:19:17

2045

I am doing a consent order for divorce we have been separated 10 yrs we have two children and I took the property over when my partner left we have agreed we don’t want anything from each house ther but we still have to fill in the statement of financial information form do we have to have cetv for pension or is a pension statement enough

Emma J Wilmott at 03.12.2020 17:30:31

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Please can you help? I have been trying to move forward with my divorce for over a year now, my husband refuses to engage in the conversation regarding a financial settlement and we have already spent a lot of money on lawyers. I really don’t want to end up in court but it feels like that is the only option. Do i have any other things i can try

Florence at 05.10.2017 8:03:27

4020

I need help writing examples of my ex’s unreasonable behaviour for my divorce petition. Does anyone know what examples are accepted by the courts?

bristol44 at 05.10.2017 8:03:13

7137

We’ve decided to get a divorce but none of the reasons for divorce on the form are relevant to us. We got married a year and a half ago but have been a couple for five years in total. No ones cheated, or left each other, we haven’t been apart for two years or five years and neither of us have done anything horrible to each other so I don’t think we can use the behaviour one? We’ve just fallen out of love and drifted apart so I don’t really know what to do…? Please help

chloec at 05.11.2017 8:03:01

4157

I’ve received my decree nisi certificate – how long will it take for my decree absolute to come through?

DWG at 05.01.2018 8:02:55

17437

Hello Please can you let me know the cost of the court fees in the even of a Consent Order being overturned? Thanks Chris

cread at 05.06.2018 8:02:37

4297

I’m currently trying to finalise my divorce and I have one final stumbling block. I live in the family home with our 2 grown up children. I’m happy to sell the house and we have recently received an acceptable offer. The only issue is that I have spent a lot of money getting the house into a fit state to sell which my soon to be ex-wife said she would pay half towards to come out of her share of the sales proceeds. Unfortunately I didn’t get anything in writing but both of our children are aware of the agreement and will say so to anyone who will listen. The total amount was £40k of which she was due to pay £20k but she has argued agianst it and I have reduced the amount to £15k to try and get over her issues. She is now saying she will not pay anything towards it. I’ve told her that if she doesn’t agree I will refuse to accept the offer on the house and she will have to take legal action against us to get us out in an effort to get her to see sense but I’m not sure what my rights are legally on this. Any help or advice would be gratefully received as she has a solicitor who I am expecting to receive threats from at any minute

dode415 at 05.08.2018 8:02:08

4388

New to the forum and would be grateful for some guidance. I’ll provide a little context behind my question. My ex moved out a year ago. I still live in the property, joint mortgage, with our daughter and my ex now lives between their new partner and their new residence. Since then my ex has used funds from an old joint bank account to pay her debts/bills and refuses to pay these back or even accept this was wrong to do. I’m paying the mortgage and will do so until our daughter’s 18th when I will either sell or buy my ex out. I suffered a mental breakdown and have suffered from anxiety and panic attacks since the separation. As a result, my social and work life has suffered greatly. I have asked my ex to allow me to change the locks or hand the key in as I do not have privacy and whenever I see them I relapse and have further panic attacks. My request has been rejected. My ex still has personal belongings in the house. I have recently found out my ex has taken, without approval or discussion, family photo albums and has also been through my financial affairs. My ex’s solicitor has been instructed not to correspond with me, to keep their costs down, so despite my attempts to bring this matter to a conclusion I’m being met with brick walls. My ex feels they’re entitled to come and go whenever they please, despite them knowing about my mental health issues. Legally, I know they can come to the property but I have suggested regular inspections to ensure their security isn’t at risk but this has been ignored. I’ve attempted mediation which both my ex and their solicitor ignored. It’s very difficult to put into words the stress and anxiety I’m under so the question I have is, is there anything I can do knowing they’ve removed items and been through my financial paperwork. Could I change the locks or is an occupancy order the only route. I sincerely hope I don’t have to go to court as I know my mental health, and my bank balance, will not be able to cope.

ghostdancer at 05.08.2018 8:02:06

4922

My husband is ignoring the acknowledgment of service he was supposed to file to consent to our d ivorce. The time has now expired for him to file the acknowledgment at court. The court is currently having backlogs on opening correspondance. I have messages on my phone from my husband stating that he had received the petition. What can I do to proceed to the next stage of the process?

goddess110 at 14.09.2018 8:02:05

4505