I have posted this in LegaI Matters and have received some helpful advice but still unsure as to quite what I should realistically be holding out for, so hope it's okay to repost here?
I am currently in the process of divorcing my husband of 17 years and wondered whether anyone who's been through a similar scenario or is legally minded could cast any light on my situation.
In a nutshell, he walked out at the beginning of the year to cohabit with OW and her child in her property. Subsequently he has been paying maintenance in line with the CMS minimum and the mortgage on FMH, where, at least for the time being, I remain with DCs 14 and 10.
Prior to him leaving I was, by mutual agreement, a SAHM, essentially having been a trailing spouse to enable him to progress in his chosen career - he had a manual job when we married and is now a senior director in a multi-national company earning in excess of 120k/pa. Since he left I have managed to secure a part-time, minimum wage job (am also volunteering) and am in receipt of tax credits. I am neither stupid nor work-shy but sadly, when you're a mid forties single mum who's been out of the work place for over a decade and, to top it all off, you live semi rurally, potential employers are not beating down your door!
We attended mediation where he agreed to continue paying the mortgage and CM until youngest DC is 18, however he has now completely reneged on this and his latest proposal is a clean break whereby he allows me to keep all the equity in the house, which in a very best case scenario would be around 100K, obviously 50k of this is already mine by default (and he has already walked away with 11k of assets) This amount, and the paltry mortgage I may currently be able to get, would leave the DC and I unable to rehouse - he appears remarkably unphased by this despite his insistence that the DC are his top priority (he hasn't seen DD in 4 months and has only had DS eow over the holidays)
Clearly he is adequately housed, has been able to afford mortgage and CM for the last 7 months, and in fact has had enough of a surplus to recently set up his own company (he has failed to disclose this thus far - I estimate start-up costs to have been between 20-30K)
My solicitor is counter proposing he pays 50% of the mortgage for the next 5 years, at which point the house will be sold and I will retain all equity. Youngest DC will be 15. I will remain unable to rehouse unless my own financial circumstances change beyond all recognition. I feel the DC and I will ultimately be shafted whichever option I choose.
Does this seem fair? Do I need to just suck it up? Should I fight it in court?
Any suggestions, thoughts, or genius ideas to enable me to become wholly self-sufficient and give him the finger hugely appreciated!
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16 replies
JohnnyMarr · 11/09/2017 09:47
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