Asset rich cash poor fdr

[Billi77]

My DB has left DSIL and is currently renting a 2 bedroom with 2 DC. Sharing a bedroom not good as his DS is approaching 13 and needs must, etc. He earns money but has no ‘assets’ and not enough savings to buy a house, especially as renting in london is eating into his savings. Their house is owned by a trust fund set up by her parents. He paid the mortgage amount to her. She has low income (mumtrepreneur). Would the FDR reveal the scale of what she owns financially?she is not responding to solicitors and is going to have to go to court. In a 50:50 split which is how childcare is arranged is it right to assume he’d split his income 50/50 and she’d split her assets 50:50? anyone been through similar ?

The kids come first.
Re split. If it's 50/50 care, both parties need to be able to rehouse so 50/50 equity split is starting point but can change depending on needs.
I'm not sure re trust fund house. Whose name is the trust fund? How long has he paid the mortgage for? If it's hers it might be considered a marital asset but your dB needs legal advice and pronto.

Unless he is a very high earner, there will be be requirement to split his future income 50:50 with his STBXW. She will be expected to support herself.
If the house is in trust, she won't have housing issues will she?
Child maintenance then comes down to who the kids live with.

Many thanks. I guess the question is can trustafarians hide their assets? I imagine there’s a fund.

Depends on the trust.
He needs to speak to a divorce solicitor who also specialises in trusts.

Their house is owned by a trust fund?

But he pays a mortgage?

That doesn't make sense. If the house is owned by him or her than it's a marital asset. If it's owned by a trust fund then there may be all kinds of complexities - who rules the fund?

If the house is in a trust and the parents set it up properly, he won’t be able to touch it. It is not considered a marital asset and it’s irrelevant that he paid her the ‘mortgage amount’ because he was living there and using utilities as were his children.

If they end up with a 50/50 childcare agreed in court, it wouldn’t be expected that either of them pay maintenance.

What sort of assets do you think she is trying to hide?

If a house is owned in trust it wont be hers to split and sell.

Thank you. All very useful. Her parents control the trust. All a bit dodgy.

It's not dodgy.

A correctly set up trust is one way to manage finances for the benefit of the named beneficiaries. There could be tax benefits for setting up a trust or indeed to shelter the assets away from any non-beneficiaries. There are costs involved in running a trust so thats why normally its the ones with £££ that have trusts.

He wasn't paying the mortgage was he? It was his own living costs he was contributing to?

Does your DB have any savings?

Are there any assets that aren't part of the trust?

As I said, he needs a divorce solicitor with a knowledge of trusts.

@Billi77

Thank you. All very useful. Her parents control the trust. All a bit dodgy.

Why do you consider it dodgy? I think its perfectly acceptable if they're wanting to ensure what they've bought stays within their family.

Only dodgy because the information was withheld from him. He paid for half the house via mortgage. Her half owned by trust.

Look on the land registry website to see who is registered as legal owners of the house. If there is a mortgage in his name then presumably he owns part of it. There may be a trust deed registered at land registry which protects her 50% share. He absolutely has to get legal advice ASAP, this is not a situation in which he can represent himself

If he signed the TR1 when he bought the house, he must have known/seen who else was party to the deed, ie the trust.
Still not dodgy.
See a solicitor

Are you sure the house had a mortgage on it if it was owned in a trust?

If he knew it was owned in a trust, what information was withheld from him? Did he think he was buying into the house by paying his ex?

He just went along with it and they went for joint ownership. She paid her half outright, he put some deposit down and his half was paid with mortgage. It’s only now he realised was a trust. So essentially he wasn’t told/didn’t think to ask. Assumed the house was shared by them as individuals.

I don't think it matters that it is a trust.
As long as he is on the deeds as a joint owner he should get a share of the equity.
Has he seen a solicitor yet?

It's going to take a solicitor because if he owns half the house and a trust the other half the i would assume she has a claim on the half he owns. Hopefully a decent solicitor can argue why he should keep all his equity to help rehouse the children and the mother to get none as she can easily house them. Problem is she may be low income and have no assets herself so you are going to need a solicitor who is experienced in family trustfunds to ensure she doesn't walk away with half of his assets.