Adequately housed? Financial agreement & needs in divorce

[TrickyExHelp]

Hi - was hoping you could help with a query.

STBXH left the matrimonial home over 3 years ago and has been renting the same 3 bed house ever since. He has our 2 kids there every other weekend and 50% of school hols. Despite renting it, my ex has decorated/furnished the house to make a nice home for the kids during their time at his.

As he has been ‘adequately housed’ for over 3yrs, will this have an impact on our financial agreement? We’re due to start mediation for finances in March. My ex earns significantly more than I do (£20,000+) and has significantly more savings.

I live in the matrimonial house with the kids (pay the full mortgage - he pays child maintenance). The value of the house has risen astronomically since we bought it 10yrs ago (nearly £200,000) because it’s in an ‘up and coming’ area. Having to buy him out of 50% of the house is doable with help from family and an extended mortgage but the additional mortgage payments will leave me extremely tight each month. Even a 40/60 split of the house value in my favour will be painful.

Would I be able to get something like a 25/75 split in my favour when the circumstances provided above are taken into consideration? He doesn’t ‘need’ the money from
the house - he’s adequately housed and has significantly more money than me. If he wants to buy, he’s got the savings to make a big deposit and a salary to get a big mortgage - he’ll have no trouble buying a 3 bed house and he already has his own furniture (his rented house came unfurnished - he’s furnished the house himself).

Thanks

I think I previously misunderstood what ‘adequately housed’ means. I thought it meant that because he’s been living long-term (over 3yrs) in a stable rented

Yes you have.

Unless he was renting a council/housing association property where he has a secure lifetime tenancy, or living in another property owned outright by him/with a mortgage then he can argue he isn't adequately housed compared to you. He could then prove it by his landlord handing him a section 21 during any part of your negotiations and then sofa surfing because it is difficult to find places to rent.

You need to be aware people can and will pull all kinds of shit while negotiating a financial settlement.

The only good thing is that most judges now want people to have clean breaks and move on with their lives post divorce. So if there are sufficient other assets and you want the house in exchange for some of the savings and your pension (which will be worth more than his) you are likely to get it.

However be very careful in giving up some of your pension for this current house as many women give up rights to pensions in divorce for housing to their long term detriment.

Thanks - that’s useful info. However, I’d be very surprised if he intentionally made himself homeless as he wouldn’t be able to have the kids overnight (parents in another country) and he’s completely furnished the 3 bed rental house so he’d have to pay a fair whack to put everything into storage.

the first stage is mediation - I’ll be able to test the water at the meeting to see how ‘generous’ he intends to be with finances.

I’d be very surprised if he intentionally made himself homeless as he wouldn’t be able to have the kids overnight (parents in another country) and he’s completely furnished the 3 bed rental house so he’d have to pay a fair whack to put everything into storage.

There are plenty of divorcing people who spend/hide savings, men who give up jobs, and pull other shit to get one up on the person they are divorcing.

the first stage is mediation - I’ll be able to test the water at the meeting to see how ‘generous’ he intends to be with finances.

Ask him what he thinks is fair first.

I got to keep house equity and also a pension share. However we had a long marriage, large family and I was a SAHM so no pension.