Can he force me to sell?

[Gimmeaclue]

We are in the process of divorcing and I was hoping that we would be able to come to some sort of financial agreement between us which we could then take to our solicitors to draft into a consent order. We are in the fortunate position of having a buy-to-let property in addition to the family home- both of which are mortgaged in our joint names. He has moved into the BTL and has told me that I am to sell the family home and find myself somewhere else to live, i.e. he takes his share of the equity and stays put. This will allow him to be pretty much mortgage free whilst I will have the stress of finding somewhere else to live, getting a mortgage, paying conveyancing fees, estate agents and all that goes with moving, etc, etc. I cannot afford to buy him out of the family home and am wondering why I can't insist that I move into the BTL. Assume a judge could order that both homes are sold. Kids are at uni so appreciate they cannot be factored in, but they have no interest whatsoever in seeing their dad and are keen to continue to spend time at home with me, for now at least, during their uni hols and reading weeks. Would be grateful for any advice on this situation please. Many thanks

He is certainly being difficult. My understanding is that we cannot transfer the properties into our respective names as it would not be equitable - plus these assets have to be factored into 50/50 split as part of the divorce, unfortunately. He does not see that the only winners in this will be the lawyers at this rate. But it still begs the question, can he really force me to sell whilst staying in the BTL? I think I know the answer - but you're right, I think the court will have to adjudicate in order for him to realise that he cannot try it on like this.

Only a judge can force you to sell

How much is the btl property worth?

How much is your current home worth and how much is outstanding in the mortgage?

There are other factors that a court would take into account.

Pensions
Incomes
Ability to rehouse
Whether you took time out to care for your kids.

Please seek legal advice. My gut feeling is he is trying to railroad you into agreeing things to his benefit and your detriment.

Quite likely - a fair amount on each. But equity will be eroded fairly rapidly if he continues to insist that he is staying put and I have to prove that legally he can't.
All the best - you're right, I will have to cough up to fight for what is fair.
Thank you.

And he wonders why I want to get divorced......

How much are the houses worth and what are the mortgages?

Why does he think this is a fair agreement?

You'd be best filling in a Form E and then presenting that to a solicitor.

Plop we are just getting valuations now and redemption statements. There is a fair bit of equity in each - FH more than BTL.
NotSure That is what I am thinking.... Do we each fill that in - not sure he is going to play ball at this rate. Can he be forced to disclose the information? Would really like to know what his fat pension is worth now....

You each fill your own in.

Have you got paperwork still at the FH? If so make copies of it all now so that when he fills in his form you'll know if he has missed off anything

A judge will take ALL the assets of the family.
It starts as 50/50. and the judge works it from there.
So if the BTL has a value of 100k
and the family home has 150k

Then his pension 75k and your pension 50k .
Cars, and any thing else of value.
His bank accounts, yours as well

Say total value is £350k then you would get half 175k..
Say but the judge might give you more, so the children still have a home, in which case he might end up owing you 25k so your equal...
and you would keep the house instead of taking some of his pension.

He cannot make you move. A judge can. He is trying his luck. Do you think he will fill in a Form E honestly? When I went to court, went all the way to a final hearing with the tightwad ex, my legal bill was about £11k and so was his, he had to pay costs ie pay the lot around £22k. It really was not worth it. But as he was paying...the solicitors let me take a loan out with a company they were affiliated with and I was paying around £100 a month by the end of it. 4 court hearings and took around 18 months to complete. I think he must regret being difficult now...£22k is a lot of money.

You can arrange mediation with a solicitor to kick it off legally (google mediation). I suspect he will need a solicitor and judge to keep him honest.

Oh and a judge takes everyone's position into account. So you would say that you would struggle to manage to pay to move etc and obv you have the children to take care of (but once 18 or 19 if in education still they don't count as children anymore). Its a very unsettling situation to be in xx

OP - this is where l am now. Form E has gone in from us both and we have both submitted questions about what was put down. This has taken 3 months so far. My stbxh wants the house sold and split 50/50 but l have our dependent children still, so I'm hoping I'll get to keep our home.

Ready Mummy Thank you for the advice - I feel a lot better about not being forced into a position that seems really unfair and oh so easy for him, potentially.

NotSure I have said to him that in the interests of being equitable that I am happy to disclose financial info. Not sure he will be that comfortable but again, assume he will have to or whoever signs off the order will not do this without seeing the financial info from him as well as me. Does he legally have to complete the Form E? Or can he get away with something slightly less in terms of disclosure?

Not sure on the legal side but a judge may not agree with the decisions presented.to him if full disclosure isn't made

I am happy to do the full disclosure - not sure he will. Apparently there is a form D that can be provided instead which is less comprehensive. Any advice on that as the way forward please? thank you.

I wouldn't trust yr ex to play fair so I'd want a full disclosure and it being over seen by a solicitor.