Divorce/Separation help needed

[greenerpastures2022]

Any divorce lawyers on here that could offer some help!?? Just can't see the wood from the trees and how to move forward.

I am desperate to divorce my manipulative twat of a husband but am trying to do so in a way whereby we do not have to sell the family home for another 4 years - until my youngest is 18.

We are currently cohabiting which has been dire over the past 8 months since we separated and I need to change this for myself and my children.

How can I divorce him without selling the family home? We own two houses (both mortgaged) but if we each live in one, we will be clobbered with capital gains tax on both properties.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated - TIA

We're just giving this thread a bump for the OP in case anyone's around to help.

Where does CGT come into it? If you're each living in a house, houses not sold, no CGT to pay, surely?

I thought the same, CGT only applicable once properties are sold and if they are each your home, no CGT?

There might be a way to remain in your home as you wish but it depends on your financial situation (which may or may not be very complex to start with) and how you agree to the settlement or financial terms for your divorce. The general starting point is a 50/50 split and the Judge will always look at the best interest of your children first and foremost.

Well because eventually they would be sold in order to divide assets equally and move on permanently. One house is worth about 700k more than the other. The option to each live in once of the houses was a thought I had until my son was 18 and then we would divorce and finalise everything ie sell the houses.

But when you sell, they will be your (each of you) main residence, so no CGT.

You pay CGT on your second home. We both own them jointly so it would be due on both houses.

If you were to divorce before your son was 18 and in the divorce settlement you agree for each to live in the properties, then when they are sold, you would not be joint owner for both properties since you will have been divorced by then. Not sure if that is legally correct of course, just thinking.
Issue is that they are not of similar value but could that be offset elsewhere in your divorce agreement? As I said before, the couple's entire financial situation is everything so you would need to have competent solicitors look over the details to see what would be legally possible and in your best interest and as close as possible to what you wish.

Look up principle private residence relief for the main property at least.
Also think there is something about cgt and assets but has to be transferred in tax year of separation.
You need a lawyer to know how it all interacts.

Op

Any divorce worth anything won’t comment on your situation

You need to get yourself legal advice

I’m divorced. There’s so many considerations that a post on mumsnet is not going to help but potentially give false hope or pessimism

This is a potentially complex tax issue but only because you intend to stay in the respective properties for the time being. Presumably the plan is one of you living in the cheaper property, the other in the more expensive but with a deferred charge so at a future date a more equal split of assets is achieved? So the problem is that whoever lives in the cheaper property will face CGT when the more expensive property sells?

I just don't think what you are planning is very sensible to be honest and a court would certainly only ever agree to it if both of you agreed. There is quite clearly enough assets in the marital pot to re-house you both and achieve an immediate clean break and I suspect you know that which is presumably why you want to avoid divorcing for four years (correct me if I'm wrong but would it be fair to say your "manipulative twat" of a husband wants to divorce now and doesn't want a Mesher Order?)

In reality, the person you're doing the most harm to and the person you are most exposing to risk is yourself, for the following reasons:

1. In the next four years your husband might lose his job or become disabled either through accident or illness. You might end up on the hook for paying him spousal maintenance either short term or permanently if you earn enough;

2. House prices are likely to continue climbing. If you split now, you can buy at today's prices with any additional mortgage required. 4 years down the line you'll need to borrow more to do that and might not be able to do so (your mortgage capacity will decline with age);

3. If you stay where you are, you will be living in a house that you have to leave in the near future but you will be on the hook for the mortgage and any maintenance on the house for the next four years. How will you feel if you have to replace - say - the roof or you get subsidence in that time and you have to cough up the full price of repair before handing him over your share?

4. When your child turns 18, you will cease to have dependents. This will factor into how the assets are split.

5. I'm not sure of what your working situation is. If you're not working now and divorced you could get spousal maintenance whilst you retrained and sought work. If you are separated for four years first and then turn up at the court still unemployed and ask for spousal maintenance, you'll get laughed out of mediation or court and told to get a job because you should have been working full time since your youngest turned 13.

@FutureExH

This is a potentially complex tax issue but only because you intend to stay in the respective properties for the time being. Presumably the plan is one of you living in the cheaper property, the other in the more expensive but with a deferred charge so at a future date a more equal split of assets is achieved? So the problem is that whoever lives in the cheaper property will face CGT when the more expensive property sells?

I just don't think what you are planning is very sensible to be honest and a court would certainly only ever agree to it if both of you agreed. There is quite clearly enough assets in the marital pot to re-house you both and achieve an immediate clean break and I suspect you know that which is presumably why you want to avoid divorcing for four years (correct me if I'm wrong but would it be fair to say your "manipulative twat" of a husband wants to divorce now and doesn't want a Mesher Order?)

In reality, the person you're doing the most harm to and the person you are most exposing to risk is yourself, for the following reasons:

1. In the next four years your husband might lose his job or become disabled either through accident or illness. You might end up on the hook for paying him spousal maintenance either short term or permanently if you earn enough;

2. House prices are likely to continue climbing. If you split now, you can buy at today's prices with any additional mortgage required. 4 years down the line you'll need to borrow more to do that and might not be able to do so (your mortgage capacity will decline with age);

3. If you stay where you are, you will be living in a house that you have to leave in the near future but you will be on the hook for the mortgage and any maintenance on the house for the next four years. How will you feel if you have to replace - say - the roof or you get subsidence in that time and you have to cough up the full price of repair before handing him over your share?

4. When your child turns 18, you will cease to have dependents. This will factor into how the assets are split.

5. I'm not sure of what your working situation is. If you're not working now and divorced you could get spousal maintenance whilst you retrained and sought work. If you are separated for four years first and then turn up at the court still unemployed and ask for spousal maintenance, you'll get laughed out of mediation or court and told to get a job because you should have been working full time since your youngest turned 13.

Thank you for such a detailed response - I will come back on later and provide more details specific to my situation to my situation.

I feel totally overwhelmed and like twat face has all the power at the mo - simply because he knows I will struggle with the decision to sell up the family home due to the disruption to the kids at this time in their life.

I'll be back on later with more info - Thank you.

People move house all the time, children cope. I think the divorce, parents living unhappily in the same house although separated are both things that will be worse for them than moving house.

We divorced and exh bought another property with joint cash assets - lower value than the family home I kept. We simply agreed that I would own the former family home in my name, he would own the new house in his name, and that when our youngest was 18 I would pay him a sum of money to match the difference in assets.

@greenerpastures2022

He doesn't have all the power although he probably has more knowledge. Some of what you're proposing sabotages both of your interests.

@MrsMcGarry

We divorced and exh bought another property with joint cash assets - lower value than the family home I kept. We simply agreed that I would own the former family home in my name, he would own the new house in his name, and that when our youngest was 18 I would pay him a sum of money to match the difference in assets.

So was your home, the main home, in just your name then? Would we be allowed to transfer the ownership of big house into my name only and the small one into his name only and then to sell up and spilt assets? Wouldn't this be considered legitimate and above board?

Yep. Because it is legit - each home is legit a primary residence.

We transferred title of main residence to me only, and have it written into our financial settlement that I will pay him x amount of cash by the December after son turns 18. We effectively split the assets upon divorce, but included a deferred payment within the settlement - it’s a v ordinary way to do things.

I don’t actually have to sell my house - just make the deffered payment by a specific date. The order can’t dictate how I raise those funds

Can you afford the mortgage on your own?

Thankfully I was able to

I get the impression there is a lot of assets involved.

Op - you’ll only get answers from a solicitor fully aware of the detail of the situation

Otherwise just vague speculation

There is no “standard” divorce

You haven’t mentioned pensions for example