Am I entitled to this

[chza]

Hi my DH and I are divorcing and I know the general rule is that I am entitled to 50% of everything. He has some equity in the company he works for that they do as a company bonus type thing so they put the money in for employees and the employees can take it out when it grows. It is worth a lot. Am I entitled to some of this equity or am I not because he isn’t cashing it in at the moment? I can’t find anything online to tell me. ExDH is sneaky with money so I wld like to know this before we start talking about dividing everything.

[millymollymoomoo]

You’re not entitled to 50%. You’re entitled to a fair share of marital assets. This would go into the pot. You could get more or less than 50%

what share you end up with will depend on lots of circumstances and only your solicitor will be able to advise.

[MrsBertBibby]

Go see a solicitor for proper advice. No one can go much beyond what millymolly just said on a forum like this.

[Collaborate]

But the short answer to your question about the company bonus scheme is that if it can be valued as an asset then it will be taken in to account. Employee share schemes where the employee saves a set amount each month and at the end of the period is entitled to buy shares at a preferential rate are valued in accordance with how many shares they would currently buy and the value of those shares, which may be more then the amount saved.

[chza]

Sorry, my OP was overly simplistic - I’m aware that I will not get exactly 50% and whatever I get will be a fair share of marital assets, what I meant by my question was would I be entitled to any of this equity at all?

[MrsBertBibby]

Maybe.

[chza]

I hope that wasn’t aimed at me jupiter13. My situation is that my exH was actually financially abusive and I have had no access to any money at all for nearly my entire marriage. I am trying to ensure that he doesn’t pull a fast one on me because he has not allowed me access to money while we were married so the chances of him not trying to screw my over financially in the divorce settlement are pretty tiny. I’m not trying to milk him dry and I’m not greedy. I am just trying not to roll over and let him get away with leaving me in a financial mess. I’ve spent 20 years unable to pay for food to feed myself and wearing shoes with holes in while he eats out every day and has a wardrobe full of designer clothes. Please don’t make assumptions because you do not know the background.

[Collaborate]

@chza From what I can tell @Jupiter13 is on some kind of mission to accuse people of being greedy by pursuing legitimate claims. That seems to have been his/her sole contribution to threads on Legal. Make up your own mid about their motive.

[MrsBertBibby]

People are weird, chza. Just ignore.

From what you say, definitely worth a proper chat with a family solicitor.

[Palaver1]

Get proper advice cheer up people can be really rude.
I’m cross on your behalf

[Bollocksitshappenedagain]

It would have to be declared on the form e and then would be included in the pot that the judge would decide on.

[stucknoue]

Every asset needs to be taken into account, including those which are not being cashed in eg pensions. As it's a long marriage 50% is the starting point, you may be awarded more. Ensure you have a solicitor willing to investigate his full financial resources