Does Soon To Be Ex Wife have any entitlement to property purchased with her contribution

[Greyjoy]

Hi There,

Hoping for advice on matter below.

As a result of irreconcilable differences, my wife of nearly 5 years informed me earlier this week that she will be seeking for a divorce and that she's moving out with our son of 3 and half years in a month's time to rent out a place.

The property we currently live in was purchased after we got married but solely with earnings I made prior to us getting married. There is no pre nor post nuptial agreement.

If we do end up divorcing, I wanted to find out whether she's entitled to any share of the property as her name happens to be on the mortgage agreement?

If I'm able to prove she never contributed to the deposit nor contributes to the monthly mortgage repayments, is she entitled to any share of the property by the fact that the property was purchased after we got married?

Also considering she is gainfully employed, can she still ask for spousal maintenance mainly because i earn considerably more than she does? I am happy to pay towards child maintenance but I question whether because she is moving out, i need to pay for spousal maintenance?

Also, I'm able to prove that I solely pay for the mortgage repayments, house/utility bills, council tax and everything else without support from her.

She only supports herself in terms of living expenses such as her car lease, dieting, phone bill and also towards nursery fees of our son.

Our son attends nursery 4 out of 5 days in a week. He is entitled to 30 hours free childcare out of the 32 hours of nursery that he attends every week. This works out around £200 a month which wife solely pays . We both chip in on son's maintenance but wife contributes around 60% and I, 40%.

Oh dear

Pay for a solicitor. I'd advise her to do the same.

"Gainfully" employed? 🙄

And yes. The house will be considered a joint asset.

Yes she’s entitled
Same situation here
I was entitled because we were married
Boot because my name was on the mortgage (and it wasn’t!)

not

You’re in for a sharp shock!

Sounds INCREDIBLY familiar, but from the man’s POV this time......anyway, I’ll bite.
Yes, she’s entitled to a share of the property.
I doubt she’ll get spousal unless you earn an awful lot.
Pay half of the nursery fees in addition to maintenance.

Seek legal advice.

@CandyLeBonBon

And yes. The house will be considered a joint asset.

As are both of your pensions, any savings and anything else that you both own if any value. It goes into the marital pot. Mediation is a way of working through what is a fair split but separate legal advice is recommended for both parties prior to any financial settlement being agreed.

Yes she'll get a share of 'your' house

No she probably won't get spousal maintenance

How gracious of you to say you don't mind contributing towards your son.

You may want to read the room on MN and think hard about the way you phrase things.

If she is to be the main carer for your joint son, then she will need everything she can get, in order to provide for him. Stop thinking about what she might take away from you and start thinking about what is best for your child.

You're married. It's a joint asset.
Yes it will be taken into account during a divorce. Your solicitor will advise you how much your wife will be entitled to.

Jeez, I wonder why she's divorcing you

You’re married, you have a child. Yes, the house is a marital asset and the court will expect a split that provides adequate housing security for your child.

What you’ve each paid for in terms of bills is irrelevant. You can’t say “I paid all the house bills so the house is mine, you pay mostly nursery bills” - that’s not fair. Presumably your wife took maternity leave and her career/earning potential is affected?

But yes, short answer is court will look for a clean split, including house equity payment, probably not award spousal maintenance as it’s a short marriage (or only award it for a defined period), and base child maintenance on your ability to pay and how your access to your child is worked - 50-50, or EOW, etc.

The real question you should ask is - do I want to pay lawyers money to argue over a fair split, or can we work this out as amicably as possible so the situation is fair for the mother of my child? You’ve got a long co-parenting relationship ahead of you and you should want the situation to be equitable, not focus on exactly who paid what but what will give your joint child the best life between two households.

In my opinion, of course - IANAL.

Yes she is entitled to a share of the property.

Depending on how much you earn she may be entitled to spousal. Usually in situations where you earn over £100k she may be entitled.

You’re married so it is a joint asset, as are your savings and pensions. Do you actually understand what being married means?

I'm on 79k and Wife is on 30k

lolest, becoming a lot more clearer now...

as her name happens to be on the mortgage agreement

She only supports herself in terms of living expenses well, no she doesn't. We also pays he nursery fees of your son. That’s not her bill. He isnt just hers.

Yes she’s entitled to half the house plus half your pension & savings. She probably won’t get spousal maintenance but you’ll have child maintenance plus half nursery fees.

@MargeSimpson00

Jeez, I wonder why she's divorcing you

Quite.

@Greyjoy

I'm on 79k and Wife is on 30k

So your earnings potential is massively higher and you’ll find it easier to get a bigger mortgage. Expect that the house will either be split 50-50 best case scenario and more probably weighted in her favour.

The basic principle is that one party in the marriage should not end up worse off than another, particularly where a child must be housed.

So if she needs a bigger deposit to house your child adequately then that’s likely to happen.

I can why she is divorcing you...

Of course she is entitled to a share of the marital joint assets. On what planet is she not contributing to the mortgage? You think because you make the payment from your bank account it is yours? Nope.

Why aren't you paying towards the nursery fees for your son? And why are you only 'chipping in' 40% of your sons 'maintenance'?

It's all marital income - who pays for what right now is largely irrelevant.

You sound like a gem.

Of course your wife is entitled to half of an asset that was purchased after you got married.

Spousal maintenance is usually only reserved for high wealth circumstances so it’s unlikely you’ll have to pay it. How charming of you to be “happy” to pay towards the cost of raising your own child…

You may want to reflect back on how much of your earnings were actually facilitated by your wife doing less hours and doing a lower earning job - how many nursery pick up/drop offs did you do? How many days off work did you have to take last minute due to DC illness?

That way it won’t be so much of a shock when you find out it’s not just half the house she’s entitled to, it’ll be a share of all savings, investments, pensions etc.

Has she always worked? Or did she have some time not working when your son was young?