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%.

@Greyjoy

Thanks for the responses, i do appreciate them. Do pardon how certain things were phrased initially. I am in my sons life 100% and also a very much hands-on-dad. I work 12 hour shifts - 4 days ON, 4 days OFF, 4 nights ON, 4 nights OFF. Particularly when I'm off shift, the current arrangement is i take full care of our son for everything and even the household as well - changing nappies, feeding our son, playing with him, taking him out to the playground, picking and dropping him off at nursery, cooking and cleaning the house as well. Wife works Tuesdays to Saturdays and her role is demanding enough that she does appreciate my full care of our son when Im off work for 4 days or 4 nights.

I hope you appreciate your wife babysitting and playing house when you are not there to do all the work!

I know it's too late now but marriage is a meal ticket for the lowest earner. All assets in the marriage are up for grabs in a divorce. And if you have a very high income you can be forced to fund former partner even after divorce. Just don't make the same mistake and marry again.

Can't think why she's leaving 😉

Usually if you are getting divorced then everything including pensions, house, savings etc are put into a pot and divided 50/50.
Length of marriage plays some part but it doesn’t matter who earns more or if one person has earned nothing and sat around doing nothing it makes no difference.

@MilduraS

I think you're all being a bit mean. When I read the OP's post I read it as he wife has decided to divorce him after 5 years. Even if you're the nicest man in the world, you'd feel hurt, rejected and angry. My first thought would be how much do I stand to lose from the other person's decision. If I was blindsided, I'd also be crap at articulating the situation properly.

In spite of the moral outrage that affairs cause (by either party) they are not grounds to gain a better financial outcome.

We don't know why the op snd his wife are separating. So no point speculating.

Yes, marriage breakdowns are hard. Usually, tje first though of a decent person is not 'how much can I withhold from my spouse'.

In spite of unpleasant circumstances, the usual response is 'I'm really upset, but how can I make sure this is as fair and equitable as possible?'

So I think pp questioning the op's sincerity is not unwarranted.

@Whoarethewho, the op will get CMS which is less than 10% of salary. Hardly think that's a meal ticket as it barely pays nursery fees.

Gosh. She must be crazy to want to divorce such a catch as you

I don't think it's necessary to come down hard on the OP's character. Aspects of their phrasing make me think that English may not be their first language, and I wonder if misconceptions about entitlement to assets might emanate from being familiar with a different system in a different country. I can't help thinking this because of the posting on Mumsnet, which I guess is a for which might well be known as a place to derive well-informed, often expert advice ( which MN undoubtedly is). But I suspect OP isn't as knowledgeable as most people about usual outcomes after divorce. Somebody has just told him to try asking on this forum.

STBXW might want to pay for childcare to show she is the primary carer for their son - as she might see that it will suggest.

I hope it all works out well for the child, and agree with posters that the lady is going to struggle as the lower earner and needs a fair deal to provide a stable home when she parents the little boy.

And yes, of course your wife will be entitled to a share of the matrimonial assets. House, savings, pension, and investments. The starting point as far as the house is concerned is 50/50 but the Court has a wide discretion to order whatever it thinks is just and equitable. Bearing in mind you earn about double what she earns, she may get more than 50%. Try to be fair and generous, OP, to prevent any bitterness before it begins (and to prevent large chunks of money going down the drain to solicitors).

“prevent large chunks of money going down the drain to solicitors”
^this
A friend of mine spent £60k trying to stop his wife getting a portion of what he saw as his sole wealth (she spent £30k). He didn’t win.

This can't be real, although some of the people I see in my work that earn £79k do genuinely appear dense enough to think like this!

@Greyjoy

Thanks for the responses, i do appreciate them. Do pardon how certain things were phrased initially. I am in my sons life 100% and also a very much hands-on-dad. I work 12 hour shifts - 4 days ON, 4 days OFF, 4 nights ON, 4 nights OFF. Particularly when I'm off shift, the current arrangement is i take full care of our son for everything and even the household as well - changing nappies, feeding our son, playing with him, taking him out to the playground, picking and dropping him off at nursery, cooking and cleaning the house as well. Wife works Tuesdays to Saturdays and her role is demanding enough that she does appreciate my full care of our son when Im off work for 4 days or 4 nights.

Oh, so do some actual parenting Well done you!

Obviously she's entitled to half duh... 0_o

Pardon my naivety, im new to this system and wasn't aware of the implications of a divorce. I thought i could seek advice on here before speaking to a solicitor. Some responses have clarified things but some have been savages as well - LOLEST... I'm not seeking to gain a better financial outcome if we divorce...Most marriages go through difficult times in their initial years which is what we currently are going through but she has decided to seek divorce... STBXW does aim to portray she is the primary carer hence why she has chosen to pay mainly for childcare. My salary definitely can cover all our expenses but because she is in full time employment I expect her to contribute towards something at least of which she has chosen expenses mainly for our son, particularly his nursery costs which works out around £200 a month...

50% of everything!!

@Greyjoy

Pardon my naivety, im new to this system and wasn't aware of the implications of a divorce. I thought i could seek advice on here before speaking to a solicitor. Some responses have clarified things but some have been savages as well - LOLEST... I'm not seeking to gain a better financial outcome if we divorce...Most marriages go through difficult times in their initial years which is what we currently are going through but she has decided to seek divorce... STBXW does aim to portray she is the primary carer hence why she has chosen to pay mainly for childcare. My salary definitely can cover all our expenses but because she is in full time employment I expect her to contribute towards something at least of which she has chosen expenses mainly for our son, particularly his nursery costs which works out around £200 a month...

Do you not consider both of your incomes as part of your pooled resources, to be looked at proportionately?

You may well do your bit when you're there but if you work shifts, especially 4 on/off at night, there will be at least 10 days a month when you are unavailable because you need to rest and recuperate too. So your wife will be picking up there yes?

You 'expect' her to contribute...? The same? Equally? Proportionately? Your wording wasn't clear. But it's absolutely unfair to expect someone who is earning less than half your salary, to match you both financially and in parental responsibility,

You seem to want to portray yourself as the injured party here. I'd like to hear more about the family dynamics before your wife decided she wanted a divorce.

Oh. And i treating choice of username by the way.

Interesting

I used to think it wasn’t fair that when you split the person paying and earning the most ie you had to give half of everything. But since I’ve realised in most cases the woman has a child and often takes a back seat for her career and job prospects. Also while you are out finding your pension and furthering your career she is looking after your child and no doubt doing more household stuff. Often when a woman is staying oh at home their pension is also neglected hence why there’s a marital pot

It seems obvious to me - the OP has bought the house and pays the mortgage, so of course he gets to keep it. The OP’s wife grew their child inside her and pays for nursery, so she gets to keep the child. I’m sure the OP will be more than happy in his house on his own.

I have no idea why his wife might want to divorce such a man! 🙄🙄

Women with young children don’t want a divorce just because, and I’m not confident about the background information given here. The same way the OP started off seeming to expect to keep the whole house because he says he paid everything to do with it, I would think the wife was probably forced to fund the child and ‘her’ expenses and go without while the OP spent ‘his’ money on himself. These threads keep popping up all the time.

@Smallkeys

I used to think it wasn’t fair that when you split the person paying and earning the most ie you had to give half of everything. But since I’ve realised in most cases the woman has a child and often takes a back seat for her career and job prospects. Also while you are out finding your pension and furthering your career she is looking after your child and no doubt doing more household stuff. Often when a woman is staying oh at home their pension is also neglected hence why there’s a marital pot

In most cases?? What cases have you ever seen where a man has grown, given birth to and raised a baby/child???

Did your wife take time out when she was heavily pregnant and when your son was small?
You know that having a child impacts women's careers?
You want to understand what you can deprive her and your son of as you 'paid' for it all?
So on your days off you feed him and change his nappy - well done you for parenting!!!
That sole care you provide for him on you days off - some of which coincides with his 30 hours of nursery care - here's a medal as you "even look after the household too".
What an absolute gem you are. I hope she takes you to the cleaners and then some - arrogant.

The talk here by this guy is really in-your-face, but I buy the skeptical attitude he is taking when it comes to finances in relationships.

Just a heads up for some swearing in the video.

@Marty13 understand it is also OPs house, but given he is the higher earner, and his wife is on a very average salary, there is more to consider here.
OPs initial post was centred around the fact she is not currently paying bills/mortgages/council tax - for her to start afresh and move out, pay rent, bills and childcare whilst caring for a young child, on just her income could be challenging. (Unless she is leaving to shack up with a wealthy new lover, ofc...)

To be at the point of divorce, and for the wife to want to leave the home with her child, indicates that this relationship is perhaps not conducive to both remaining together in the family home or the right environment to keep a young child in - as many situations are not where divorce or separation is concerned.