Mortgage payments after separated

[bazza75]

I have always paid the mortgage, council tax, energy bills. My husband has a good salary but has only ever paid the shopping. He left me and we are now separated, but his only contribution towards about £2000pm of these costs is £300 towards shopping (half the monthly shop). He is now renting. I begrudge paying his half of the mortgage now as we are separated. Should I expect him to pay 50/50 or should the financial arrangement be whatever it used to be? And is there any legal guidance saying so? Thanks

The simplest solution is to buy him out. I assume he doesn't want to buy you out otherwise he wouldn't have left and moved into rented accommodation.

He’s not going to pay mortgage on a house he’s not living in, especially if renting elsewhere ( can he even afford to ?)
you have sole use if it and his capital is tied up there
What’s the longer term plan for the house ?

He could charge you rent for having sole use of a marital property. He's having to rent elsewhere. Agreed its best to buy him out and realistically it doesn't sound like your financial situation has changed. You was always paying the majority.. sounds like you're well rid

My advice would be to get the divorce and finances finalised as soon as possible and then you'll feel less resentful. Whilst it's a joint mortgage you can't legally force him to pay his share. If you earn more and he seemingly paid a very small contribution to family finances when you were together presumably you can buy him out?

Go and see a lawyer.

All parties on a joint mortgage are jointly and severally liable for making sure the full capital and interest payments are made every month, irrespective of who lives in the property or any personal agreements between borrowers.
Your lender has the right to chase both parties, either jointly or individually, for payments - plus any costs, legal fees or loss made upon any possible repossession.
Any refusal to pay the mortgage will impact your ex-partner's credit file as well as yours. You will both enter into arrears, meaning it will be much harder to secure a mortgage or any form of credit moving forward.

www.advicenow.org.uk/divorce-and-finances
www.unbiased.co.uk/discover/personal-finance/family/divorce-and-your-mortgage

You're paying 'his half' of the mortgage in lieu of the rent you should be paying him for exclusive occupancy of the house. That'll be how a solicitor sees it.

I think you run the risk of pursuing him for interim support, which you might not get given you can afford the payments, at a cost of time and money. Then you have to negotiate and agree a final settlement. IMO you really need to crack on with a clean break. That will resolve things and end your obligation to pay for assets he half owns but which you fully occupy.

Do you have children and if so are you claiming CMS?

Thanks. I s'pose I'm just wondering because if I left, I'd still be expected to continue to pay the bills even if I didn't live there, wouldn't I? You can't just leave and stop paying the bills, irrelevant of what additional financial commitments are then made - that is non-matrimonial. So if I would have to pay if I left, I don't really see why he doesn't have to pay -as others have said, we're both jointly liable.

But yes I agree that it might be best to pay him off.

Another question... if I decided I wanted to sell, how long do people think it's reasonable to keep hold of the house before selling it?

My solicitor said STBXH was expected to contribute his half of the mortgage as it's a joint debt. He'll benefit from there being less debt when we sort the finances.

Move it onto interest only so you aren't paying off part of his joint debt.

Do you have children? Is he paying child maintenance? Is that as well as the £300? Or is the £300 instead of maintenance... in which case, would maintenance pay more?

If it's a joint mortgage he should be paying his share, whether that's half or a lesses amount you agreed on. My oh and I lived together until the house was sold as neither of us could afford rent and mortgage.

Ok, so if you believe that then leave the property and let him move back in. Then you can just pay rent and the problem for you is solved. He can pay the mortgage. Or you can live together and share the costs.

You will have to either buy out his share of the house or sell it at some point. You can delay and prevaricate a financial settlement. But you will still have to pay the mortgage all the while.

You have split up, get mediation sorted out and start the divorce process. That will resolve what his share is and you can buy him out or sell.

The bottom line is that now you have split you either live together and share costs or live separately and pay your own costs. Pick your poison.

Depends on the facts of the case, always. If your case had dragged out and he was having to live elsewhere renting, you would most likely have got a letter sooner or later telling you that you needed to pay all of the mortgage as you were the one enjoying the use of the property (with occupational rent for his half offsetting his half of the mortgage).

Both parties are liable for the mortgage and this matter almost never goes to a court to decide. But if it did, the idea that it would always be paid 50/50 is a myth. Also, it can be quite a dangerous game. In my case I stopped paying when I moved out and pointed out I was in a job that I would lose if the house was repossessed. I didn't like my job very much so I left my ex wife with a choice between paying for her home or losing over £1k in child maintenance a month and repossession of said home!

@BetterFuture1985 I agree it depends, I was sharing what I was told. We're not planning on dragging it out and as it goes, he's not working and therefore not contributing anything.