2053
My wife of almost ten years has said she wants to divorce. She is likely to inherit a large sum from her father in the next 6-12 months and this is potentially in the region of £300-500,000. We have three small children and share a joint mortgage. We will likely sell the home and split the proceeds 50/50. However, I have a much smaller salary than my wife and will be unlikely to afford a mortgage on my own so will likely have to rent. As my wife will have a large inheritance she will be able to afford to buy a suitable home outright. Although I do not want to take any, would I be entitled to a share of her inheritance in order to ensure I am able to purchase a suitable home for me and my children?
Replies (1)
Hi, thanks for reaching out to amicable. If you're planning on making your financial arrangements legally binding through a consent order (if you agree) or a financial order (if you don't), normally, the starting point is a 50/50 split of all assets including any property, savings, inheritance etc. The courts primary concern is the children's welfare and that all needs are met. A Judge will consider lots of different factors including housing needs, age, earning capacity, contributions made etc. To reach an agreement its useful to look at your whole financial picture and work out what's the fairest way of separating your finances based on that. It's common for people to need help with this, and we offer coaching sessions which follow a similar pattern to mediation and can help you to reach an agreement on this. Divorces take a minimum of 7 months, following the introduction of 'no-fault divorce' and you can only apply for a consent order once you've reached the middle stage of the divorce process and have your 'conditional order' certificate. We also have a blog on inheritance and divorce which you can read here or you can speak to us directly through our 15-minute free advice calls.