Partner refusing to pay

I don’t understand what you mean- what difference would it make to hear his side of the story? (Which obviously, isn’t the way mumsnet works anyway!)

Would he agree to that?

Because we’re hearing one side of a story.

When the house is sold, make sure the money doesn't all go into an account that he can access. Tell your solicitor that you want your half paid into an account which is solely in your name - don't trust him to do the right thing if it's paid into a joint account.

It is possible to get an adjustment of sale proceeds in this situation but the OP would need to talk to her solicitor about that. It may cost more in legal fees than it's worth.

How old are the dc @Eeeek1

Eeeek1. Sounds to me like you are doing the best you can, you're a good mum. I hope you find a buyer soon. Good luck

Who made you Head Prefect? 🙄😆

Unfortunately you won't be entitled to decuct anything from his share of sale, as he owns 50%. The law is not interested in who has been paying the mortgage, only in ownership. It's shit but unfortunately it's how it works😕

To just stop work is very very odd. Does he owe HMRC money and he thinks this is a way to resolve that? If it is he needs to speak to them because not earning anything doesn’t reduce the tax you already owe

Get a solicitor or see citizens advice x

OP, what excuse does he actually give you when you ask him to contribute?

You tell him you’ve ran out of money, everything will soon default, what does he actually say to that??

I'm going to disagree with those who state op doesn't need legal advice. She does, because she has a child for whom she will assume primary care responsibility. Despite not being married, she may be able to make an application under schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 for maintenance in the form of a property settlement, whereby the court awards her more than the 50/50 on account of her having primary care responsibility. She could, for example, see if she could be awarded a 65/35 share. If she can prove that she's paid most of the mortgage payments for the past 8 months with bank statements etc then this is more likely to go in her favour.

I believe it may also mean that a court order can determine that the house be sold, since her partner is unable/ unwilling to leave and buy her out, and the proceeds split according to the instruction (e.g. 65/35). This would be my recommended course of action, based on the fact that regular maintenance payments seem highly unlikely to materialise if op's partner is self employed. This is because, even if he does work again in a self employed basis, he is likely only to declare the bare minimum required. If he owns a company for example, he likely pays himself a £12.5k salary and awards himself additional as dividends as an HMRC workaround to limit taxation obligations.

This man is relinquishing all parenting responsibilities by the sounds of it, so op needs to get proper legal advice to protect herself financially, since she is unmarried.

It doesn’t work like that. It’s joint and several liability. They are both responsible for the whole mortgage

No joint accounts?

He shouldn’t be able to do that as it’s jointly owned. OP can check her credit report which will tell her if he’s done so fraudulently. It’s a pretty big deal to secure a loan on a house, the vast majority (mortgage aside) would not be.

You need legal advice and for your finances to be separated. That way, when you sell, hopefully he will have what he’s not paying now deductible from his share.

I'd be worried he's taking out credit/loans against the house. Not sure what you can do about that, though. Legal advice?

That advice - one session- would easily cost £400.

how can someone be obligated to pay half into a joint property? Think of all the couples that only have one working partner. There is no legal prescient. Even if there was, how is she going to force it? It would cost even more in legal fees.

if he agrees to repay OP for his “half” then yes she should get this agreement drawn up by a solicitor as part of the sale and signed off. But it’s hardly a priority now.

He won’t go. It’s his house as well.

I think legal advice might be worth it - I would be asking whether what he owes on the mortgage for the last 8 months (plus until it sells, taking into account the additional costs due to the mortgage holiday) can be deducted from his share of the house proceeds. At the very least, you should be able to demonstrate that you have been paying his share and he therefore owes you that money…? But I have no idea whether that can be enforced, hence getting advice might be helpful?

Again, what’s the point in us saying this? 😭 it’s not going to make him get a job.

So he should go get a job then…any job.

Reduce the price of the house asap and sell it asap. Then you are in a much better place

If the house doesn't sell even at the reduced price, perhaps you should consider putting it for sale by auction. It might not get as much as you would get in a private sale, but at least you would no longer have the worry of paying the mortgage, nor would your credit rating be impacted by failing to meet the mortgage repayments.