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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

Ex lied in financial settlement

42 replies

PearlJamily · 23/09/2023 20:18

Financial consent order has been signed by both parties and submitted to court, but not heard back yet. Ex ticked the box to confirm he has no intention of co-habiting. However, I have just found out that he is in fact already living with the OW. He has a lease on a rental property where he stays when he sees our kids a couple of days a week, but he spends the entire rest of the week at hers and commutes to work from there and back without ever visiting the rental unless the kids are coming. The lease on that is up very soon, so I assume he'll then be full time living at hers.
I have not applied for our final order (decree absolute) yet as solicitor advised me to wait until the finances were settled. Do I have any options for recourse given he's lied about his living situation, which will have materially affected the financial settlement? I assume it's complicated while he still has a rental lease so could continue to lie and say that's his home?

OP posts:
Tosca23 · 24/09/2023 22:05

Im not sure how you could feasibly prove cohabitation . What does the solicitor say?

exDHisatwat · 25/09/2023 05:58

@PearlJamily

If his lease is due to end very soon can you stall things until you find out if he continues the lease? If he does not extend it and is living with the OW you can say you want to redo the financial agreement and amend his address on the divorce application.

I'm in a similar situation, ex has been saying he lives with his parents but I knew he sleeps at OW's flat. When I filed the divorce online I put her address. He acknowledged without disputing it so going forward with the financials I'll be basing my claim on him being adequately housed. We have 2 children who he does not see. He is still paying for our family home but probably living for free with the OW.

thetrainatplatform4 · 25/09/2023 06:07

I suppose it depends on what your settlement would have looked like had he stated he intended to live with her? If it's not much different then I just wouldn't bother making an issue of it. You must have known if they were seeing each other still that this would likely have always been a very real possibility? Especially if the split is in your favour already then he's obviously looking for ways to save money

It's an odd one because i know that form well from my own divorce last year and you do all the workings out to establish assets and splits and then that question comes right at the end. To the point it has almost no consequence. My ex loves in a house share to save money - that does mean he is also co habiting?? It also has no end date on it - it doesn't ask if there is intention to live with someone for the next 1 year or 10 years - i ticked saying no but one day I'd like to meet someone and live together?

Mumof3confused · 25/09/2023 08:53

As long as he still has a lease you will not be able to prove a lot (he will just produce his lease as ‘evidence’). Is it too late now to stop the progress with the paperwork? I would contact court and ask if it has been sent to a judge yet, if not, ask if it can be pulled…

Mumof3confused · 25/09/2023 08:54

The problem you might have is he might ‘move in with his parents’ or whatever if you try to change the agreement now.

LemonTT · 25/09/2023 10:47

Like others have said he is de facto renting a place for the foreseeable where he has space to parent his children. It’s your assumption that in the future he will move in with his girlfriend. He might or he might not. Rental leases have expiry dates and then they roll over or get extended.

I don’t see a way for you to prove his lie. Divorcees end up in new relationships that financially advantage them all the time. He could have been entirely truthful and then met someone, got married and moved in. So could you and you wouldn’t want him interfering and tracking your love life.

rwalker · 25/09/2023 10:59

If he’d hidden bank account fair enough

but co-habit I wouldn’t peruse

FSTraining · 25/09/2023 12:15

PearlJamily · 23/09/2023 20:18

Financial consent order has been signed by both parties and submitted to court, but not heard back yet. Ex ticked the box to confirm he has no intention of co-habiting. However, I have just found out that he is in fact already living with the OW. He has a lease on a rental property where he stays when he sees our kids a couple of days a week, but he spends the entire rest of the week at hers and commutes to work from there and back without ever visiting the rental unless the kids are coming. The lease on that is up very soon, so I assume he'll then be full time living at hers.
I have not applied for our final order (decree absolute) yet as solicitor advised me to wait until the finances were settled. Do I have any options for recourse given he's lied about his living situation, which will have materially affected the financial settlement? I assume it's complicated while he still has a rental lease so could continue to lie and say that's his home?

I doubt this omission will have affected the settlement for two reasons:

  1. You will find it very difficult to prove cohabitation if he is not living with her (rent on another property and lack of any joint finances for example will make it very difficult); and

  2. Cohabitation rarely affects divorce outcomes, even though they should be declared. Cohabitation is not treated like re-marriage and one partner will not get most of the home equity just because the other is cohabiting these days.

The likelihood is that any difference in the final amounts are not worth the legal fees to pursue.

Original poster
PearlJamily · 25/09/2023 12:39

@FSTraining this is really helpful thank you

OP posts:
fetchacloth · 25/09/2023 13:05

caringcarer · 24/09/2023 01:31

Don't sign it. Sounds like you have a poor solicitor if that's the best they can get you. I'd go back to your solicitor and tell them they must do better. Explain about him living with OW. If this solicitor can't do better then I'd find a better one.

Show quote history

I agree. Your solicitor should be fighting your corner and he/she doesn't seem to be doing that.
Having gone through the same I would advise a solicitor that specialises in divorce/family law.

anomaly2 · 25/09/2023 13:07

millymollymoomoo · 23/09/2023 23:15

Whatever

your post gave zero pertinent information

do what you think is right

Oh go away. We all can see what you were inferring. If you can't actually answer the question please move along

FSTraining · 25/09/2023 13:24

@fetchacloth That's not likely to be the case. It's far more likely that the solicitor is not pursuing it because:

  1. It is not in the client's best interests (it will take time, it will cost money, the likely outcome is either not worth it or so uncertain that it would be foolish to pursue it); and

  2. It could piss off a judge whose time is wasted correcting a form E for no material reason.

By all means find a solicitor who wants to pursue it, but do it with your eyes wide open that the legal risk is at best 50/50 and the winnings are probably school raffle size.

ivegotthisyeah · 25/09/2023 13:24

My ex was living with his GF when we divorced on his Form E he omitted her salary when I queried it I was told ( by my solicitor) they wouldn't take it into account anyway in court! So don't stress about her Income. There is bigger battles to be had 💐
Mine hid a house a bloody house!!! The twit!! Found it though didn't we!!

fetchacloth · 25/09/2023 13:28

FSTraining · 25/09/2023 13:24

@fetchacloth That's not likely to be the case. It's far more likely that the solicitor is not pursuing it because:

  1. It is not in the client's best interests (it will take time, it will cost money, the likely outcome is either not worth it or so uncertain that it would be foolish to pursue it); and

  2. It could piss off a judge whose time is wasted correcting a form E for no material reason.

By all means find a solicitor who wants to pursue it, but do it with your eyes wide open that the legal risk is at best 50/50 and the winnings are probably school raffle size.

The solicitor may not want to pursue it because the husband is likely hiding assets. I've been there and I had to engage a good solicitor to deal with it and it was worth it. 😌

FSTraining · 25/09/2023 13:35

fetchacloth · 25/09/2023 13:28

The solicitor may not want to pursue it because the husband is likely hiding assets. I've been there and I had to engage a good solicitor to deal with it and it was worth it. 😌

Show quote history

If the solicitor believed their client had good evidence for hidden assets then they would absolutely pursue it. However, a good solicitor would not pursue it if the evidence of hidden assets was weak or non-existent. Solicitors will often find clients who believe there is a "hidden pot of gold" when there is not and they will not waste their client's money pursuing it.

In your case what I suspect happened is that the second solicitor saw much better evidence of hidden assets than the first. Either that or they took your money and got lucky.

fetchacloth · 25/09/2023 13:43

@FFSTraining
The first solicitor did virtually nothing. The second solicitor wasn't satisfied with the lack of financial disclosure so with her help and effort, I retained 100% of the property. Call it what you want, but I consider that to be a good outcome and worthwhile investment in a decent solicitor 😊

FSTraining · 25/09/2023 13:55

fetchacloth · 25/09/2023 13:43

@FFSTraining
The first solicitor did virtually nothing. The second solicitor wasn't satisfied with the lack of financial disclosure so with her help and effort, I retained 100% of the property. Call it what you want, but I consider that to be a good outcome and worthwhile investment in a decent solicitor 😊

Without knowing all the details of the case I can't say whether or not it was worth it/what the second solicitor knew that the first did not. Either way, the case could always be opened later if the settlement was based on fraud.

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