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Divorce/separation

Here you'll find divorce help and support from other Mners. For legal advice, you may find Advice Now guides useful.

Original poster

What would be a fair split of assets?

42 replies

mpsssm · 27/12/2021 15:34

My ex and I are going into mediation next week and I think I need some perspective on what is a fair split of assets
My solicitor said he cannot advise me without paying for section E forms being completed at a cost of approx 2k.... And suggested mediation as an alternative, but that relies on us making some suggestions and I am unsure of where to start.

The position is this. Married 15 years
One child of 11.
I work full time 43k (increased my hours from 4 days a week to 5 when we split)
He committed an offence which lost him his job, which paid around 23k a year. He now is only able to earn min wage in agency work which is sporadic. It was this offence that led us to split.
He is not allowed unsupervised child access as determined by SS. He has not challenged this and won't, so 100% of child care is down to me.
I was both the main bread winner and main childcare prior to splitting. He literally did two school drop offs and was around 2 evenings a week.
House is worth approx 250k with approx 150k equity.
My Cetv is 115k, his is 25k
I have 4k in the bank and no debt
He has 2k credit card debt.

We each have an old car.
No expensive items of furniture etc

He wants. 60:40 split of everything (me 60, him 40)

I just feel I've worked harder, done more child care and will have to do so in the future, it's 100% his fault we are splitting. 60:40 does not seem fair! As I say I need perspective to take the emotion out of this

OP posts:
Soontobe60 · 27/12/2021 15:45

House is worth approx 250k with approx 150k equity
My Cetv is 115k, his is 25k
I have 4k in the bank and no debt
He has 2k credit card debt.

In terms of calculating a financial settlement, the reason for the split is irrelevant. The fact that you did all the childcare before splitting is also irrelevant. The financial split should be 50/50, with you claiming CMS from him as you have the child full time.
So, he gets £50k equity from the house, he gets some of your pension.
Regarding what you have in the bank and in debt, you need to look at what those figures were when you split. Then calculate him having half of the bank account and you having half the credit card debt.
He’s ready to accept a 60/40 split and therefore you should be willing to accept this.

MalbecandToast · 27/12/2021 15:49

PP is right I'm afraid. The house, savings and debts are marital assets so will be shared jointly. If he is happy with 60/40 take it and run

Original poster
mpsssm · 27/12/2021 15:50

Thankyou
As I said, I needed some perspective as on an emotional level it seems very unfair. I do understand that legal and practical level are different though.
We had no debt on splitting and no real savings, my savings are simply the extra money I've earned going full time that I've not spent

OP posts:
SheWoreYellow · 27/12/2021 15:52

Are you in England? I know that if you’re in Scotland the attitude to marital assets is slightly different depending on where they came from.

Indoctro · 27/12/2021 15:52

Should be 50/50 regardless of who put in more

So if he willing to accept less I would take that option

SheWoreYellow · 27/12/2021 15:54

That does seem totally shit on you though.

Would it be worth trying to negotiate a better split but no maintenance? I have no idea, it’s just a thought.

THisbackwithavengeance · 27/12/2021 15:57

60/40 is fair and in your favour

If I were your DH's solicitor, I would argue that due to the offence (a mistake), my client's earning potential was severely impacted and therefore I would like a greater percentage of the assets plus the XW's pension.

You've dodged a bullet.

Mia85 · 27/12/2021 16:01

@Indoctro

Should be 50/50 regardless of who put in more

So if he willing to accept less I would take that option

50/50 is a rough starting point but it is not a rule (assuming the OP is in England).

OP will your solicitor not give you any advice at all without the Form E? It sounds a difficult situation and going into mediation with a general idea of what is reasonble would be very valuable.

Original poster
mpsssm · 27/12/2021 16:05

I am not sure how to quote people!

Yes I am worried that he could argue for more due to his loss of earning potential!

Might be worth considering re maintenance as some months he earns nothing.

I might just go into the meeting and agree 60:40.

He has told our daughter she can stay in her home. She can't, I can't raise the equity as he knows! He came to a meeting with the mortgage advisor with me

I am in England, that is where we lived together. He now lives in his home town in another part of the UK

OP posts:
Mia85 · 27/12/2021 16:16

I am not sure how to quote people!

To quote the whole post use the button on the top right of the post. Or you can C&P the section you are interested in and put . around it to make it bold as I've done above.

Do be careful about relying on replies on threads like this. Most of the posters are not family lawyers and those who are are very unlikely to give anything other than the most generic advice as they know how different situations can be when you have all of the information. Sometimes the 'advice' given on here is way out. This is a different situation to most others with children as usually there's an aim to give both partners a home where they can have the children to stay if possible. It sounds as if the child's home will always be with you and no overnight stays with the father.

HeckyPeck · 27/12/2021 16:25

I think you should find a new solicitor as they should be able to give you a rough idea based on the figures you've put here.

50:50 maybe the starting point, but it's certainly not the rule. If it went to a judge they'd consider issues such as who will be the main carer for the child, securing appropriate housing for that person and the child etc.

You can complete form e yourself too - you don't need to pay a solicitor (and certainly not £2k!) to do it.

AndSoFinally · 27/12/2021 16:37

Does he mean 60:40 of the whole lot or just the house equity? He may be willing to take pensions off the table for a 50:50 split of the house?

Itsybitsydooda · 27/12/2021 16:37

I got advice on what a good split would be in a free 30 min consultation. Your solicitor sounds like they are just after money.

Original poster
mpsssm · 27/12/2021 17:08

Meant to say my solicitor won't give any advice without form E as he doesn't know my ex's financial position... I do but I suppose in some relationships one party could hide assets.

In many ways we get on still. He's currently in my house as I'm supervising contact. I also pay for hotels and petrol when he comes to visit or I go to him with our daughter... Will this be taken into account? It costs me around £250 for a visit, assuming two nights in a hotel and petrol costs. He can't afford it which is why I pay.

OP posts:
TooWicked · 27/12/2021 17:12

Given that he sounds like an absolute fucking waster I’d go for as big as percentage as you possibly can get over everything - and in exchange, he doesn’t need to pay you child maintenance.

Because quite frankly it doesn’t sound like you’ll get much maintenance from him anyway.

gogohm · 27/12/2021 17:21

If he's will long to take less than 50/50 you are doing well! You could push for a bit less pension but if it goes to court it will be 50/50 pretty sure

Igmum · 27/12/2021 17:22

IANAL but if this is a negotiation why not make your starting point what you would like (or a bit above)? What share would allow you to keep the house? Good luck (also was it a short marriage? Could make a difference)

akeys1970 · 27/12/2021 17:23

Go for as much as possible if you think he won't be able to pay child maintenance, children get more expensive the older they get.

Soontobe60 · 27/12/2021 17:41

Don’t forget, if you can’t agree and it has to go to court it could cost you thousands in the long run. Reaching an agreement now could save you a lot of money!

FutureExH · 27/12/2021 17:52

You're doing the childcare so you have greater needs from the assets than he does. The needs of children always trump the needs of adults in divorce. I think a fair outcome to counter propose is:

House - you £80k, him £70k. It should be enough for him to get a mortgage together for a studio flat, which is all he needs if the child isn't visiting him. For you it should get you enough - with a mortgage - for a £250k property, or in other words you can buy him out and stay put (which is good for both of you, as there will be no costs of sale involved in the transaction);

Your pension needs are about the same but you have a better capacity to save again. I'd say a transfer of £45k from your pension to his. 50/50 split.

You clear his debt with the money in the bank and split the net amount £1k each.

Keep your cars and try and agree a split of furniture that's fair.

You would get £151k and he would get £141k. A 52:48 split which I think is fair as you have all the childcare but are also the higher earner. He will also have to pay you child maintenance so it would be reasonable to assume you will be much better off than him in the future.

FutureExH · 27/12/2021 17:54

Oh, and one other thing. No spousal maintenance to him. He's not caring for children and you can't afford to pay it anyway.

Blossom64265 · 27/12/2021 17:55

If he is willing to go 60:40 in your favor and pay CMS, I would take that and get the signatures dried as fast as possible.

It’s absolutely awful that sometimes the reason that you are divorcing someone is their financial incompetence or unwillingness to pull their weight and the system may actually award them more of the joint assets. It is the problem I faced with my divorce from my own XH.

Almostwelsh · 27/12/2021 18:03

Don't listen to people telling you 50/50. That's a starting point, not a definite. The fact you need to house a child and he doesn't may allow a split more in your favour. Child maintenance from him on minimum wage will be fairly low, so that's not a big plus in income for you

Having said that, it would be difficult for you to get more than 60% in court I would think, but I'm not a lawyer. I don't know how you can go into mediation without a form E. Surely you need it to be sure of the figures? Then you can take solicitors advice

Mia85 · 27/12/2021 18:03

@gogohm

If he's will long to take less than 50/50 you are doing well! You could push for a bit less pension but if it goes to court it will be 50/50 pretty sure
What makes you so sure?
FutureExH · 27/12/2021 18:17

I don't know how the poster reached that conclusion but I suspect they're about right. See my post above and you'll see how I came to a 52:48 split in the OP's favour for my reasoning.

A court would essentially look first at the needs of the child then at the needs of the weaker financial party. Once the needs of the child are met then it is possible to consider the needs of the STBXH.

In this case, it should be possible for the OP to lose £70k in equity in the house but remortgage to keep the FMH (meeting both child's and weaker financial party's housing needs); pensions are irrelevant to child so 50/50 split; cash is barely material but all debts and savings shared so net off and split 50/50.