No Financial Settlement, Second Divorce

[NameChangerinDespair]

It's a complicated question.

My ExH and I were married for 16 years. He was so keen to re-marry, and I was so bogged-down as a Single Parent of four under 9 that I was behind on paperwork, we got divorced without a financial settlement. We still don't have one.

He and Wife #2 have now separated. How does their divorce affect me and my settlement, or can they not get a settlement till we have?

You must have had a financial settlement, even a mutually agreed one as opposed to a court ordered one?

I'd assume you don't get a settlement anymore and implicitly have accepted the status quo. How else would you untangle this financial mess now?

When you divorced did include a clean break order?

My understanding is that if it did you cannot go back a lay claim to any financial assists. If it wasn't you may have a case.

I'm not an expert, just my understanding when I was divorcing my exH and why I insisted on a clean break order.

No @StephenBelafonte. Nonsurgical what he told the Judge. Was in such a state trying to keep life going I missed it was happening till the ^Decree Nisi^ came through.

*not sure

#MandUs: the house is the only asset. No orders. He can go back if a certain box was ticked on the application. I have had to order a copy to check, as it is long gone. I have also been paying the mortgage.

Sorry, that was to @Movinghouse2015.

@MandUs no idea how. Regret we didn't before but we are where we are and I was under huge pressures.

Unfortunately now he has remarried, I think you’d have a hard job getting anything from the house without a court order/settlement which was sealed by a judge during your divorce. My solicitor warned me of this when I was getting divorced as my Ex met someone new.

Do you still jointly own the house you live in? Are you concerned your ex’s settlement with current wife might include his share of your home as one of the assets to be put in the pot? Otherwise I can’t see how his new divorce would impact you?

Will the assets of the second marriage count? Can they divorce before we sort this out?

That was to @Gensola ...

Ooh sorry I didn’t realise you own the house - ignore me!

Oh I see. You kept the house from your first marriage and have been paying for it and now they are divorcing you are worried that his second wife might have a claim on it. It might have been simpler if you had just asked that in the beginning!!!!

The answer is

maybe.

My solicitor told me that unless we had a sealed financial consent order and clean break order, I’d have to take ex-h to court later on if I decided I wanted to change how we split things. If he remarried (which he did as it happens) then could potentially divorce and lose lots of his assets which would then be gone and I’d have no claim on them. As there is no reason for a new judge looking at the second divorce to know about first one. However I think if you own the house then any new settlement would have to come out of his half, surely. We were splitting money and investments etc. My sol was particularly concerned about pensions as apparently if he remarried then new wife would trump me unless consent order had been sealed in court.

You can still claim on assets and from him, as he remarried he can’t claim from you as I understand
But you should definitely seek legal advice and finally get the consent order !

I think I'd get in first. Get your settlement before the second divorce gets filed for.