Ex’s father extremely wealthy (millionaire) - impact of financial settlement?

[Nearlyalldone]

Hi all,

Just wanted to check something with you. Currently at the beginning states of divorcing my ex and getting the documentation for the financial settlement prepared.

My ex’s father is a very wealthy businessman (millionaire). He’s at retirement age but continues to run his business.

Does my father-in-law’s wealth have any impact on our financial settlement? I’d very much like to stay in the family home with the children (I have a ‘lives with’ order for them and they are in my care the majority of the time). It would be possible for me to remortgage to buy my ex out but this would leave me with very tight finances. My ex earns at least £20,000 extra per year than me, receives bonuses/shares, has significantly higher savings… and has a dad who is a millionaire(!) and is very likely to help my ex out with purchasing a new property.

Thanks for your help

I was in a similar situation with my XH though his family weren’t millionaires he stood to have a lot of help and inheritance in due course. We still split everything 50:50 and he later got help from family to buy his home and since has inherited money. He was always supported more by family before we met, whilst we were together and then afterwards and marriage didn’t change that.

The fact that your ex has more savings than you will be accounted for in the divorce, since both his savings and yours are marital assets to be split either 50/50 or however the court decides. The fact that he has a higher income than you may affect the child maintenance settlement, I don't know.

But fundamentally, as others have explained, there is a clear legal line between the assets and income of your ex himself, and those of his father. You may well know that after your split his father will give him loads of dosh to get back on his feet, and may feel that's unfair, but the law won't take that into consideration. It couldn't do so without considering the nature of their personal relationship and what kind of informal understandings they have (plenty of parents in that situation wouldn't be helping with the next house purchase).

It is what it is. Some people have more inherited wealth than others; that's irrelevant to your divorce.

It may be that you get a greater share of the equity to house the Dc, so need a smaller mortgage to buy him out.

Have you factored in CM?

And if his higher salary currently precludes you from CB, will you be eligible as a single parent?

Thank you.

You want it via the back door though.
so unreasonable
and rightly so no a court won’t award you more and expect his father to pay for his som as an outcome!

what if he is disinherited, or father didn’t want to buy him a house ?
completely unreasonable

I have a friend in a similar position, apart from, pre-divorce and financial settlement her ex husbands father in law bought him a house to move in to so. Marital home was sold, proceeds split and now friend has a large mortgage and stbexh has a mortgage free house.

They are just beginning the financial process and she doesn't know if it should be included as a marital asset given it all happened while still married. I think a bit unwise of the father in law really! Unless it's technically in joint names? Dunno how it will work.

I simply asked a question that I didn’t know the answer to. I’ve now been informed by previous posters that my father in law’s wealth will not be considered. I accept this as an answer. I wasn’t being ‘unreasonable’ by asking a question.

Thank you. Even with all of this factored in, I’m still going to have to skint myself to remortgage and buy him out of the family home.

Only assets belonging to your ex counts.

So your ex could stop working and be funded by his dad 100% and you would get zero chid maintenance because ex has no income. Or ex could receive a million pounds in cash from his dad after your divorce and you'd see none of that.

Interestingly, at one point it looked like my ex was going to buy a house ahead of the divorce (he’s currently renting).

It’s a tricky one - no idea how the courts will handle the ex’s property.

I knew what you mean from you OP, that your husband basically can come out of your settlement fairly badly because he has his dad as back up

You're still wrong

I think you are missing the point. Your ex is your ex. As in past, behind you, gone. What his needs are is literally none of your business. Your settlement will be based on what is a fair disposal of the assets that you and he currently have, not possible pie in the sky. That pie may or may not materialise, but if HIS relative offers to help him then that's between them. If his father is any sort of businessman, he isn't going to invest in something in order to benefit a stranger. Which is what you now are to him. He MIGHT consider something of benefit to his grandchildren, but I doubt he cares how you make ends meet.

What infuriates me is that should your ex's parents have already passed and he inherited the millions, then you'd be able to claim a chunk of it. Why should this be? I know it's how the law works but when someone's parents have worked extremely hard to build their wealth, it sickens me that the ex spouse can claim nearly half of it.

Because if they had died then it would be his money.

As it stands something may happen and he doesn’t inherit at all. A divorce settlement can not be based on what someone might be given in the future. It’s not currently the Ops exs money. So how can it be included?

Op
Your ex's potential inheritance has no bearing on your financial agreement.. it's generally 50.50 of the marital assets less any debts plus maintenance on top for you.
A judge will
Not take into account the fact that his father might buy him a house at a later date

OP you're getting a hard time, but i know where you're coming from. You've been together however many years, got kids you do most of the care for. For whatever reason, you are divorcing, and you are going to be left struggling with a big mortgage while he, in all likelihood, not withstanding the potential to be disinherited or whatever, will end of considerably more comfortably off than you, through his Dad's hard work rather than his own. It's bollocks isn't it, must feel really unfair. But, it's the way it is and on balance, it's the right way to do things. It would be irresponsible for anyone to make financial decisions based on a presumed inheritance. His dad could be around for another 30 years.

I can see why it feels shit. My ex FIL is wealthy, in his mid 70s. Occasionally i worry that if my exh becomes very wealthy through inheritance and can provide a better standard of living, mine will start preferring to be there, and i would lose out because i can't buy them as much stuff as him. It's slightly irrational but these are all the things that run through our heads in these situations. Emotions are high, you want to feel like it's fair, you probably feel hard done by by him in many other ways too. I don't think you're coming across as a money grabber or unreasonable, just trying to make sure you don't come out of this completely on the back foot, because who would want that?

Why don’t people read threads properly and just jump on the OP
she’s not after her father in law’s money

She is though
because she wants to get majority of assets and then have her fil provide or her ex.
so by the back door she was hoping to get that

She is though. She wants her FIL's money to benefit her in regards to the settlement she gets.

No. Too precarious. Anything contractually drawn up and dated would as it would be considered an imminent asset, otherwise it’s a 50/50 split of existing assets.

I don’t know why everyone is being so rude and unpleasant to you , OP. Perhaps they are cross that it’s raining and it’s spoilt their bonfire party, or something.

it seems a perfectly reasonable question to me, although I wouldn’t expect the answer to be in your favour. Of course, if your ex inherits a lot of money, he may choose to benefit his children, but that will be his choice.
I think people are going to be very wary of asking this sort of question if they get mobbed by the self righteous like this, which will be a shame.

Your FIL money is irrelevant.

No, It won't affect your financial settlement. His DFs wealth doesn't impact on the divorce. Ignore the silliness.

No, the potential for future inheritance or gifts won't be considered, because there is no guarantee your ex's father will give him a gift, or leave him money in his will. Your poor ex would be shafted if he didn't get much cash in your divorce now because everyone assumed he would inherit, and then his father disinherited him!

My husband's first wife took this approach in her divorce (his parents are wealthy) - she racked up £25k in legal fees only to end up being awarded less in court than he had offered in mediation.

however, my ex doesn’t need my money to purchase a new property because his dad would be very likely to give him money to help him buy a property

So you want a judge to order that your ex's father gives him money...?