Does my ex husband have grounds for a financial settlement from me?

[Ricenoodles]

I will go and see a solicitor but have just been thrown this from him out of the blue this evening.

We were together 8 years, married for 1.5. We have one DC together.

About 5 years ago using money from my family we set up a business together. The business is completely in my name, but Ex was always employed by business and always worked with me on it. It was my concept, ideas and driving force that made it happen and made it a success though. One of the reasons we are divorcing is his lack of ambition and drive in life.

I have just bought the freehold of the property from which our business is run but Ex does not know this yet. I live in our old home, a rented property, with DC. My Ex lives with his parents and has DC occasionally but not overnight ever. He has not found another job in over a year since we separated and has not contributed financially to DC.

We have had a fairly amicable separation and agreed to divorce, but recently he has become very angry and begun demanding a financial settlement from me as we set the business up together. I would not be able to 'give' him any cash as little savings, but it would have to be borrowed against the business (unlikely as I have just secured mortgage against it). The only alternative to extract cash for him would be to sell business, which is mine and DC's livelihood. We receive nothing from Ex so I couldn't support DC if I had to split the business.

Does it sound as though he has a case for a financial claim? Has anyone been in a similar situation and can offer advice? Thank you

Yes I would imagine he has a claim. He had lost his job as well as currently not drawing any profits from it.

If this was a women, their would be an outcry if the man sacked her then tried to stop any share going her way.

He no longer wanted to work with me, there was no sacking.

I think he does have a claim, you need to get legal advice.

Obviously it's hard to advise as there are so many variables but on the information provided, can I ask, did you sack him from the business when you separated? If so then he could initially have had a claim for spousal maintenance. However, it is very rare for spousal maintenance to be awarded. And if he has supported himself for over a year then I imagine (but don't know) that would impact on his ability to prove that he was financially disadvantaged by the split.

As for the only way to provide a settlement would be to sell the business, you could probably set up some kind of dividend payment that meant you could maintain the business and pay him. But I really think it is unlikely he would be awarded a settlement (unless you sacked him, made him leave the family home and left him at a financial disadvantage because you instigated a divorce).

I think it'll be complex as they'll have to be trotting up of who did what and what was the value of it. You might want this moved to legal for better advice.

The issue will probably be a) your current individual financial situations and b) any loss of earnings etc.

Sounds v complex :(

did he walk out of the business? leave you in the lurch?

if it was set up pre marriage he has less of a claim i believe plus he has done nothing about it in a year which would lessen his claim

was anything put in writing at the time of starting the business?

was he an employee or an equal partner?

who put in the start up money you or him?

You need proper legal advice OP. Get yourself a family solicitor and fight. I'm not going to agree with the stance of 'if he were a woman' etc.

You are raising your child, you are running a business and providing a living that puts a roof over you both. If he has not worked in a year then it is pretty obvious he is hoping that he can use you to support him also after just 1.5 years of marriage. It will probably be easier to pay him off and I suspect you will have to do that but you should not have to pay him monthly from the business. That's pretty much taking food from your child's mouth and is inacceptable.

Sorry a year is nothing. I'm two years down the line mainly due to Ex dragging heels and the legal advice is that 50:50 is still the default position.
The starting point is 50:50 then there is a variety of negotiation relating to who has child most of time whether one or other gave up earning potential etc.
I own my own business and am in a similar position you need really good experienced legal advice and it will cost you I am afraid.
Don't forget pensions will also come into play, but it would be wise to prepare yourself to have to finance a settlement.

Your post is confusing as you refer to him as ex husband and then say you have agreed to divorce.

Are you still married or not?

If still married then everything either of you owns is a marital asset and will be split as part of the divorce settlement. You won't be able to get divorced without a financial agreement.

You really need to see a solicitor either way, as if you are already divorced and he is making a claim after the fact, you need to see whether he can legally do this.

Dont worry my ex threatened the same and dragged methrough court, the judge actually laughed at him and told him he was lucky I had a good job or I would have got a bigger settlement.

You can get divorced before a financial settlement, I had my absolute 2 years before the financial settlement was finalised.

sebsmummy OP has said she doesn't have the capital to pay him off hence why they might suggest a staged payment.

OP did you instigate the divorce?

This sounds familiar - is this the STBXH who wanted your job and was telling you that he would take over your work entirely?

I think you need legal advice also, but as you are the one supporting your DC, I wouldn't think he's entitled to a huge amount.

Are you in Scotland macdoodle? Did you have DC? Did you have joint assets such as property/business?
I am in England and was told by sol that as we had joint assets and DC we had to get a financial settlement before the court would issue the absolute. I guess she may have been mistaken though and it was a few years ago now.

What is the legal status of his ceasing to work for the company? Was he a director? Is there any paperwork that states he invested anything into the company?

It's not as simple as who is supporting the DC. You have employment and business law considerations as well as divorce settlement rights.

What counts as a marital asset, depends on whether you are in Scotland or England.

I'm in the middle of a similar process at the moment but fortunately we had shares, dividends and clear paperwork trails for the individual investments we made into the company. It's still messy and complicated but I fear OP that your situation will be even more difficult as there doesn't seem to have been any attempt to value your DP's contribution to establishing the business or/and ensuring he wasn't at a disadvantage because you decided to separate and he left the company.

You'll need an evaluation of the company's current worth including a re-evaluation of any company assets as a starting point ie to show how they have accrued in value over the lifetime of the business. Did you attempt to do any of this when he first left? Or did you both somehow agree that it was fair that he left his job with no kind of financial recompense after the split? Did he receive any other kind of assets then?

Chased I don't think it is that poster iirc that poster had established the business before she met her partner.

You need legal advice and quickly. The mortgage, etc for the property could be a key issue. Any settlement will take account of the current value of the business as well as likely future distributable profits. The mortgage is a substantial liability and future profits will have to service debt before distribution.
If he was paid as a PAYE employee who resigned and has not found alternative employment that is helpful plus your position as lone financial support of DC is also a plus. Spousal support is unusual if there is history of employment and no resident kids with the spouse being supported. Tends to apply more when one has been out of the employment market for a long period as part of a family set up. It will also be a rare situation where a business sale is forced in order to facilitate a settlement where that business supports the long term financial needs of children.
Having said that, this is only ever going to be bar room law on the basis of insufficient info. A decent solicitor will be able to advise quickly and easily.