Divorcing my mentally and financially abusive H... If someone has any legal knowledge, please help me out.
We are married with 2 dc. Before we married we bought a small flat in London. Both put in 50/50 deposit. The flat has a large garden, and i paid and applied for a planning permission to extend the flat into the garden. I also found and paid for an architect to do the drawings. I have account details to prove.
We had dc1 unmarried and i stayed as a sathm. After dc2, we married and i stayed at home with dc for 6 years in total. During those 6 years i had two part-time jobs, which didnt really pay much. He actively encouraged me to quit them since he didnt like looking after the dc, but when i didn't work, he routinely shouted at me to 'get a job' 'make money' etc..
After we married, i found out he had been cheating on me for 2 years. Also, after i decided to stay and try work on things, we started the building works to extend our flat out into the garden. We remortaged the property to pay for it, and he also put in some of his own money into it. Up to 70k he says, but i have no idea. We were a young family and i took it as my role to look after the two little dc in the middle of a building site as well as having to stay at friends and familys houses for several months when the property was unlivable. He stayed put and managed the build.
After a while we rented the flat out and moved abroad. Remortaged again, and bought another house outright in europe where we are now.
Ive finally realised what a prick he is. I want to divorce him. He says our London home belongs to him because he invested his own money into it and i can have this house, which is worth a third.
Can he just claim the London property to himself on the basis that he paid the majority of the extension? We were married at the time! I was looking after very young dc and saving money by taking them to stay with family and not having to pay for alternative accommodation and nursery fees.
I have been working now again for a few years. He keeps all the rental income from the flat. I never see a penny, yet pay capital gains tax on it. I also pay all the bills in our current home. He doesn't contribute fairly, and its crippling me financially. Hes actually even refusing to move out before i either give him the London property or buy him out if this house. Which i cant afford yet.
Can he take it all? We are in Europe but married and lived in the UK for a long time. Can we get a uk divorce?