Divorce / financial order when house tied up with his brother/Dad HELP!!

[Freedomplease]

I hope someone can help me or offer some advice please, I honestly don’t know what to do next. To give you the short ish story, I left my husband 4 years ago after he had an affair. I have been trying to get a divorce since then. We are now at final stages where we just need to agree finances. He hasn’t done anything for the divorce yet, I applied by myself because he wouldn’t.
The really tricky bit is the house, built on his Dads land, mortgage tied up in equal parts between him, his brother and his Dad. The whole ‘house’ comprises of two sides, two separate homes, his brother and family live in one and we (he still does) lived in the other. So the house can’t be sold.
In the final stages he has now said that he can only offer me £40k and that’s it, he can’t afford any more than that on the monthly repayments. The whole house is worth £750k. His percentage is worth £250k. So to be offered £40k is so upsetting, I’m renting at the moment with our 3 children, and really want to be able to pay off old debts and get a mortgage.
I can’t afford a solicitor and to be honest it wouldn’t have helped up until now anyway because he has dragged his heels so much and no solicitor can do much about that.
I wondered if anyone has any experience or knowledge on this tricky house situation or know what I should do moving forward .
sorry for the crazy long opener but hope it helps paint the picture. Thanks

I am so sorry to hear this, it sounds really difficult.

But now is the time to talk to a solicitor, this is when an expert will save you money in the long term. They often offer you a free consultation first. I have heard that some solicitors will wait and take it out of the money when you finally receive it (but I didn’t find anyone like this). You may find you only need one session with a solicitor to find out your options.

My ex has wanted to keep the marital home, so he has increased the mortgage so he can give me my share.

You need to house yourself and 3 children so there must be some flex on your exs part.

Solicitors deal with splitting finances all the time, they will know what can and cannot be done.

Wikivorce is a very helpful site, but your situation is very unusual.

There are also mediation specialists around, they are generally cheaper but not all are solicitor as well.

Off the top of my head, I wonder if a mortgage broker would be able to tell you about mortgages on separate properties on joint land.

Thank you so much for you reply. I really appreciate it.
Yes I think I need to hire the bullet and ask for a solicitors help, I just don’t have the money and that worries me. I looked all over for one that invoices on settlement and there are none round here.
I’ll try that website thank you. You are right though, it’s such unusual circumstances so I never usually find help online or on forums.
it’s been going on so long now I am drained and I don’t want those feelings to make me settle for something that just isn’t right.
he actually had the audacity to ask me ‘what did you put into the house’ - 3 kids!!! Despite the fact I also contributed to bills, shopping etc.
thanks again for your time :)

His share of ownership might be a third and therefore (potentially) £250k of a house worth (potentially) £750k; but that doesn’t mean he has £250k worth of equity if there’s a mortgage outstanding. How much equity is in the property and what is that per each owner when split three ways? That’s the amount you’ll be negotiating over, not £250k.

I’d look for some initial advice from a solicitor who specialises in complex asset and property ownership. The NFU may even be able to signpost: it’s a relatively common scenario in farming families where property and land are owned and occupied intergenerationally and therefore not free for sale or remortgage.

Thanks for your reply. I see what you saying but his Dad doesn’t live in the property at all, the only reason he is on the mortgage/deeds is for tax purposes. I can’t see a judge letting him pay me £40k while he sits in the house which will be mortgage free in 7 years. So then he is sitting on a house worth £400k ish once it all gets handed to a 50/50 share between himself and his brother, and I have full custody of our 3 children and can’t afford a house with a £40k deposit on my own. It just doesn’t seem fair/right to me. I just wish I had the money to be able to go to a solicitor specialising in this type of property/situation and let them take over. It’s so stressful I just want it over.

But as previous posters have stated you need to understand

the totsl house value less any mortgage = equity

how the house is owned and in what shares

then you will know what actual
asset value is available for sharing between you and your husband.

come to an agreement on the % between tiu and ex.

I'm afraid that it doesn't matter whether his dad lives there or not. It's down to legal ownership. A judge will not award you any part of his dad's (or brother's) share. That belongs to them legally. And likewise a judge won't give you an amount based on what his portion will be worth after he has paid off his part of the mortgage in the future. It will be based on the current equity that your husband has in the property. It will not be based on what the house might be worth in the future. It won't be based on your husband's potential inheritance. Inheritances are never guaranteed, your FIL could develop dementia for instance and need to realise his assets to pay for his care, or he could run off with a new woman and burn through his assets on flash holidays or lose it all on racehorses. It's not your husband's inheritance until your FIL is dead. You need to ask your solicitor is to ask for a share of your husband's equity that is greater than the typical 50/50 split. You are having to house and provide for the children so you hopefully may get a 60/40 or 70/30 split.