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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Finances / wills (I earn more and he has DC)

427 replies

InterestedinOthersViews · 09/02/2020 10:36

DH and I are married and we both earned equally when we got married. We recently moved into a new house and at that time DH changed jobs so he earns about £10k less than he did then. I’ve had promotions and earn about £10k more than I did when we got married. So now I earn about £20k more than him. I am ambitious and don’t rule out doubling my salary yet.

He has a DD. We had a DD together who died. We’d like more DC but there are no guarantees. I’m very aware of death and mortality since losing her so don’t assume I’ll have more children before I die.

Anyway DH is asking me to contribute more and more on the basis I earn more. He also pays CSM.

I pay more towards the mortgage and bills, I pay for all the food, I pay for the car and I pay for anything extra for the house or any work (house needs a lot of work since we moved in).

I’ve said if I am to pay more because I earn more, fine, but I’d like us to do wills which reflect this. If I don’t have DC of my own I want my share of all I have worked for (I am ambitious and expect my earnings to increase significantly yet whereas he’s happy on his average salary) to go to my family. I have a much younger sibling and would want my share in the house and money to go to them and my nieces and nephews if I die without any DC.

He is not happy with this and I think it’s because he sees it as being personal to his DC. Please don’t say “you knew he has kids” because yes I did but she has two parents. I feed her and buy her things and take her out when she’s here. DH pays the CSM. She would inherit from him and her mother who hasn’t had more children and is now unlikely to as shes late 40s. I don’t think DSD needs to inherit from me too.

He thinks if I earn more I should pay more. That makes sense because he can’t pay what he hasn’t got and tbh nothing would get done if I waited until he could pay half.

But if I dropped dead tomorrow the house and my savings etc would go to DH and then to his kids. Maybe his new wife and kids if he decided to go down that road. Am I wrong for thinking I want my share to go to my family (who could do with the money and supported me for a long time) only after we have both died?

How do we do this fairly?

OP posts:
Poohpooh · 14/02/2020 16:32

OP, you sound so defeated. But what gives me hope for you is that you have opened up more and more about him on this thread, and that hopefully you will realise the only way to become whole is away from him. Every day he's in your life the load on your heart and mind is just going to get heavier, hence making you feel more broken and more dependent.

Have there been times when he hasn't been there that you've felt relief? Perhaps a few nights when he was with his parents or friends? What was that like?

InterestedinOthersViews · 14/02/2020 16:32

@Frazzledasarock That’s very interesting and helpful to know. I’m pleased it worked out for you. I feel sorry for my DH too. Sometimes I just think he has it hard and I know that’s silly but I can’t help how I feel. It’s really hard to leave a situation like this.

OP posts:
flirtygirl · 14/02/2020 16:34

Op UK family courts and cafcass do not work like that. You can be a wife beater who's admitted it and done time and have anger issues and still get unsupervised contact and even overnights with the children.

You need to make a plan to leave.

Believe me, I know I left many times and went back many times. It took him to leave for me to wise up and realise that the man I loved did not exist. At first his mask would slip like with your husband and you remember the good times. However that mask is not the mask. The good times are not real, that was the mask. The bad times and his day to day interactions with you is the real him. He doesn't love you, respect you or even like you. His behaviour is proof that.

It's so hard, I know it is as I still grieve for the kind sweet man who loves me and who I married, but the truth is that this man did not actually exist.

Your good kind husband does not exist. He will never be the man you want and need him to be and the man you deserve.

So op please wise up, sort out your eggs but sort out the money even quicker.

Gift it to your sister,
Get your house decorated basically enough to get a good price,
Go see a solicitor, c
Contact women's aid and do the freedom programme,
Read books by Patricia Evans and Lundy Bancroft

Read up all the info on the Internet searching: co dependency in abusive relationship, fog/fear obligation guilt, trauma bonds, gaslighting, etc

Work on you and your self esteem and then leave. These steps do not actually take as long as you may think, just do them.

Yes a divorce is sad and crap and awful but staying in an abusive relationship is worse.

InterestedinOthersViews · 14/02/2020 16:35

@Poohpooh I used to feel quite insecure with him, probably because of how he treats me. He never made much effort to make me feel special once he felt he “had” me. So I’d want him around. I’d want to spend time with him. I’m getting to enjoy him not being around more and more. That the reality of him being around is not always the same as the idea of having my loving husband at home. It’s not often he’s not here. We both work a lot and neither of us has much of a social life.

OP posts:
InterestedinOthersViews · 14/02/2020 16:39

I don’t know how to do it. I actually don’t know how to leave him. Maybe if I get the eggs and money more sorted or take advice then I’ll get to that point and then just go? Or do I stand up to him and maybe he will go (he won’t)? Eg he’ll threaten divorce if I stop him seeing DSD by not letting him have the car. But then things get nasty like when he breaks things or smokes in the house or loses his temper. But I don’t know how to leave when I’m not actually angry with him for being a twat.

OP posts:
frazzledasarock · 14/02/2020 16:42

I think as women we’re conditioned to be ‘nice’ and nurturing and overlook when other people hurt us.

Throw in shared history and genuine affection for the nice person he can be, the man you share your bed with.

Yeah it’s bloody hard breaking up a marriage. Especially throwing in the complication of shared assets and the paperwork.

When I got together with DP I was adamant I wasn’t going to get married, I am also a high earner. Then at one point early in our relationship I was thinking about splitting up from him. Because it felt so overwhelming, being vulnerable again. And the thought of splitting up hurt. Emotions are not logical or easy to turn off.

Read the Lundy Bancroft book
Find out about egg freezing
Speak to a solicitor about managing your assets. See if you can gift money to your family first as well and see what would happen if you started divorce proceedings soon after.

I hope I read thread of yours in future where you’re really happy in a good place in your life and shot of this abusive man.

AnotherEmma · 14/02/2020 16:52

"I actually went to the gp today and got some counselling numbers."

That's great. If you contact them, I hope one will have availability sooner rather than later and that it will be helpful.

You have become rather defensive so if my posts are bothering you I will stop. But I would like to point out that unlike some others I haven't been telling you to leave him ASAP. I understand that it's not that simple. All I hope is that you'll get some real life support and if you do that's great.

Best of luck to you.

echobench · 14/02/2020 17:09

Sorry OP, I mistyped. In my family, my grandfather remarried and after his death my step-grandmother inherited, and then left everything to her family (despite the fact that all the property, money etc came from him). Then my mother has remarried after divorce, her 2nd husband demanded that their wills split their money between their two families (even though she brought money in to the marriage and not him). In any case he spent all the money before his untimely death from alcoholism.

InterestedinOthersViews · 14/02/2020 17:24

@AnotherEmma I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to help and your posts have been helpful but the last couple came across as if you think I’m a bit stupid or maybe you misunderstood what I’d said. Then again feeling down and stressed so probably reading too much into it.

Im stressed because I feel like I don’t know what to do but, as some of you have said, I don’t need to make a decision today.

A friend bought me a sort of goal journal and it’s really up my street and I’m writing in it but it makes me realise I have big plans but they don’t work with him. I want to pay my mortgage off and do my house up and make partner in my firm but what will he be doing meanwhile? Continuing to take and contribute not a lot? I can take him on nice holidays and for nice dinners and when I ask what he does for me he’ll say (“well I didn’t have to go with you but I did” - yes this is his contribution! This is what he says).

@echobench That’s what I want to avoid. I think that would be really unfair.

OP posts:
mummmy2017 · 14/02/2020 17:30

You need to work out if the house is worth the effort.
You know you would get half the value.
But can you wait him out.
Maybe move out, then swoop in when he doesn't pay the mortgage?
Legally agreed by the way.

InterestedinOthersViews · 14/02/2020 17:37

What do you mean @mummy2017

He has said before he’d be happy for me to buy him out but I also know he doesn’t think we’d split though. He has made clear he won’t leave otherwise. He knows he couldn’t afford to keep the house though. I don’t really know if I could. I think I could as I could pay the mortgage and bills alone but I’d hate to buy out his equity too which might involve more lending - but then any money in my accounts - can that go towards buying out his equity or is automatically considered half his??

OP posts:
nettie434 · 14/02/2020 17:38

This has been such a hard week for you interestedinothersviews. I know that in a similar position I would find it very hard to make long term plans in a logical way. You could try going to a financial adviser to talk about your plans perhaps. Anyway, be kind to yourself (you come across as very kind to other people) and keep on thinking about what is best for you.

InterestedinOthersViews · 14/02/2020 17:42

Thank you @nettie434

I have looked up a fertility clinic and will call to make an appointment when they are open tomorrow or on Monday at least to talk about it options etc. I’m not sure hormones are a good idea today.

It’s a step towards independence and not relying on him

OP posts:
AnotherEmma · 14/02/2020 17:42

Please don't apologise, if anything I owe you an apology as some of my recent posts were rather blunt. Flowers

This kind of decision is a big scary stressful one to make and you need to make it at your own pace.

No one here will think any less of you if you need to take your time.

frazzledasarock · 14/02/2020 17:44

This is why I think would be a good idea to get legal advice.

Ask a divorce solicitor what would happen in the event you split from your H about Allah your assets.

If you want to go down the buying him out of his share rout, I’d do it as part of your divorce settlement not as a verbal agreement. He sounds greedy and grabby and i would not be surprised if he wanted more money from you during a divorce.

frazzledasarock · 14/02/2020 17:47

All not Allah 🤦🏻‍♀️

Also as your marriage is relatively short I think it might just be a case of splitting everything and leaving with what you bought to the marriage.

Gets more complicated the longer the marriage is and if dc are involved. Then he’d also conceivably get a share of your pension and savings etc

InterestedinOthersViews · 14/02/2020 17:50

@AnotherEmma No it’s fine I understand

@frazzledrock I will do that. Yes he is grabby. It’s weird as he’s not money focussed generally but as between me and him he expects everything. All that is mine is half his and I don’t even get acknowledgement (I was pissed off when I gave him the little red car 🚗 because he wouldn’t acknowledge I’d done that for him. Just said it’s what I should have done...)

I think doing it through a solicitor is a good idea and ideally when I am not around him.

He was telling me yesterday that this is what marriage is. Husbands and wives get pissed off with one another and then they make up. Apparently his parents were like that (I gather he is much like his dad) and I gather his relationship with his ex was v volatile. There was a lot of being thrown out and splitting up and getting back together... so maybe he thinks this is normal. I didn’t have a perfect childhood but I know it’s not normal.

OP posts:
Wallywobbles · 14/02/2020 17:54

Just make multiple solicitors appointments and go with as much of both your financial information as you can get. It doesn't oblige you to divorce but at least you'll be better informed

Double3xposure · 14/02/2020 19:05

As a PP said, it’s much easier to divorce now when you have a short marriage, no children together ( sorry ) and neither of you is dependent on the other.

You need to make a detailed list of all your assets and debts and estimate how much of these were accrued during the marriage. This includes saving, life insurance, pensions. If you paid more towards the deposit on your house then you need evidence of that.

Then get legal advice , so you know where you stand.

Again, I encourage you NOT to share any of this information with your husband. Because you have been living in this unhappy and abusive marriage you have ended up in this ‘tit for tat ‘ dynamic . So you end up trying to score points off him and vice versa. That’s why a Pp said that you seemed selfish and childish about the car.

I understand the urge when he says to you “ well you do nothing for me, I’ve carried you for years “ to reply “ well my lawyer says that actually I’d be entitled to X Y and Z”.

I know you want to see the look on his face when you drop that bombshell. But you would win the battle and lose the war. You need to keep your powder dry.

I do understand why you are so angry at him about small things. That’s what happens when you live like this for years. It all dissolves into “ well I won’t let him have the car because he used all the diesel “ and he says “ well in that case I won’t cook you dinner because we should be a team”.

Bitch bitch bitch. It all sounds petty to anyone who is not living it.

You think it’s possible to “ stand up for yourself “ and “ not give in to his bullying “. But it’s not a game of oneupmanship. You are clearly not happy and you know it can’t be fixed. Or maybe you still hope that if you threaten him enough he will change ?

So my advice to you is to do is focus on the end game and not dissipate your energy by getting annoyed because he left sweetie papers in your car. You can’t change him. Either decide that you want to love like this for the rest of your life, or make plans to leave.

If ( and I know it’s a big if ) you leave, you are not doing so because he broke an ornament or earns less than you. You would be leaving because he is an abuser and you are in an abusive relationship and that’s no way to live.

And I know you are getting annoyed at AnotherEmma. But I agree with everything she has says. None of the “ evidence “ you have collected on your husband will stop him having contact with any joint child.

That’s because you think it’s proof that he’s an angry and aggressive person. However the courts will see it as an indication of a problem in the relationship between you and him. And therefore not of any relevance to how he would treat his child.

After all, he doesn’t grab his boss by the arms, force him up against a wall and scream in his face, does he ? So why ( the argument goes ) would he do that to his child. He can clearly control his temper when he wants to.

He will say that your provoked him with your intolerable behaviour , that you abused him and he’s the victim. That your recordings don’t show how you acted before, that he was set up and manipulated.

He will Point out that he has no criminal records and you have no medical or police records that prove he has done anything wrong.

That’s how men who have put women on hospital still get unsupervised access to their kids. Then when they injure or kill them, everyone says “what a surprise ! Who could have known? He seemed like a doting dad to me “.

Sad Angry

Wonkybanana · 14/02/2020 19:06

Interested very few people in abusive relationships have a single lightbulb moment of clarity where they go from being in the relationship to leaving overnight.

Instead it's a slow, stomach churning realisation that the relationship shouldn't be like that, and many attempts at getting up the courage to leave. You look at what's wrong and try to work out a way that you can change to make it right. But it doesn't work, and there's always something else that the abuser finds to be abusive about, so you try again...and again...and again, until you accept that there is nothing you can do to fix things.

Take things at your own pace. But please have a read of this emotional abuse. You might find it painful, but also eye opening.

Wifeofbikerviking · 14/02/2020 19:11

If I was in your setup I'd rather he got everything if I died. Because if you die and your share is left to someone else he either needs to sell the house to pay them out or stay and have the financial burden hanging over his head until he moves/gets another partner. Why would you do that.

Also how would you like it if he died and suddenly you need to pay out his share of assets to his daughter. Normally it would go to you then youd leave her share in your will

Wifeofbikerviking · 14/02/2020 19:12

I'm answering you original post...not read past page 4

AnotherEmma · 14/02/2020 19:14

It's almost comical now when someone hasn't RFTF

Poohpooh · 14/02/2020 19:14

@Wifeofbiker - please read the full thread. Things have moved on.

Whatsnewpussyhat · 14/02/2020 19:21

You need to leave before your earnings increase further and he finds an excuse to quit work.

You will be fine. He clearly targeted you and has done a great job controlling you. There's a reason why he didn't go for someone his own age.

You can do it. Go be successful and enjoy the life you deserve. The longer you stay the more life you are wasting on him.