Fathers rights divorce

[Needadvicethankyou]

Please can anyone advise, I'm helping a friend out they are seeing a solicitor next week but any advice on here would be greatly appreciated.
Husband and wife have broken up, they got married roughly 2 years ago and had baby their baby who is now just under 1. The husband has moved out of home as it was a very toxic environment and not fair on child. He has the child 50/50. He's currently living at his parents but will need to move out and find his own place but financially he can't because he is still paying all the mortgage on their marital home. He has suggested they sell but wife is saying no and said she can stay there until child is 18 years old. Please can anyone advise. I can't see how this would work when he needs to find a house so when he has his child he has a roof to put over his head and child. He has put most of the money in to their marital home and would like to sell split the equity and both move on with their lives for the sake of their child. I hope that all makes sense. If she wants to stay in the house how does it work with mortgage and bills.

[Needadvicethankyou]

No it's a family member.

[Needadvicethankyou]

Thank you!

[millymollymoomoo]

There’s no automatic right to stay in a house until 18

courts will only do so as an absolute last resort or if it’s v short term ( eg a child who is 17). Courts don’t mind both parties renting.

if she cannot afford to pay the mortgage ( and release him from it ) and all bills she won’t be able to stay. Its that simple.

theres v little chance of her being awarded this with him paying for the next 17 years unless he’s a very very high earner and can house himself while doing so / I’m guessing that is not the case.

he’ll need to get divorce started, attend mediation and start the process.

in the meantime I’d suggest he moves back in

[WallaceinAnderland]

There is no such thing as father's rights btw.

The child has rights, the parents don't.

I think you mean the rights of each person in the separation with regard to splitting assets.

[Needadvicethankyou]

@WallaceinAnderland

There is no such thing as father's rights btw.

The child has rights, the parents don't.

I think you mean the rights of each person in the separation with regard to splitting assets.

Absolutely, Sorry I should have worded the title better.

[TheFormidableMrsC]

She's thinking of a Mesher Order but they are vanishingly rare these days. She has no entitlement to stay in the house unless she can release enough equity to buy him out and take over the mortgage. Otherwise the property will have to be sold and proceeds divided.

They both need legal advice really. It's a short marriage so while complicated by a child, it should not be difficult to resolve. Both parties should be reminded that the marital pot also contains savings, investments, pension.

[Pleasealexa]

he’ll need to get divorce started, attend mediation and start the process

100% this. Is the mum back at work?
Both parties will need to list assets, savings, pensions, equity in house.

How long were they together before marriage?

[Needadvicethankyou]

@millymollymoomoo

There’s no automatic right to stay in a house until 18

courts will only do so as an absolute last resort or if it’s v short term ( eg a child who is 17). Courts don’t mind both parties renting.

if she cannot afford to pay the mortgage ( and release him from it ) and all bills she won’t be able to stay. Its that simple.

theres v little chance of her being awarded this with him paying for the next 17 years unless he’s a very very high earner and can house himself while doing so / I’m guessing that is not the case.

he’ll need to get divorce started, attend mediation and start the process.

in the meantime I’d suggest he moves back in

Thank you! Someone else has mentioned about him moving back in but at the same time he does not think that environment round his child is good. He lived there at the start of their break up and tried to live amicably but sadly that was not the case.

[MississippiAF]

She’s very little chance of a mesher order to be able to stay in the home until 18 now.

He needs to see a solicitor.

[Needadvicethankyou]

@TheFormidableMrsC

She's thinking of a Mesher Order but they are vanishingly rare these days. She has no entitlement to stay in the house unless she can release enough equity to buy him out and take over the mortgage. Otherwise the property will have to be sold and proceeds divided.

They both need legal advice really. It's a short marriage so while complicated by a child, it should not be difficult to resolve. Both parties should be reminded that the marital pot also contains savings, investments, pension.

Thank you for this and Yes he's already seen a family solicitor once at the start and he is seeing her again next week. so hopefully he will have some more answers.

[PaminaMozart]

Wikivorce
Divorce for Dummies

[Needadvicethankyou]

@Pleasealexa

he’ll need to get divorce started, attend mediation and start the process

100% this. Is the mum back at work?
Both parties will need to list assets, savings, pensions, equity in house.

How long were they together before marriage?

Thank you, so he has mentioned about starting the divorce process but the wife has said she isn't going to sign it as she won't have any rights which I don't think is correct. But please tell me if Im wrong. Yes she's back at work. and they were together for 5 years before marriage.

[Needadvicethankyou]

@MississippiAF

She’s very little chance of a mesher order to be able to stay in the home until 18 now.

He needs to see a solicitor.

Thank you

[Needadvicethankyou]

@PaminaMozart

Wikivorce
Divorce for Dummies

Thank you 😂

[Octavia64]

Ultimately if she won't co-operate with the divorce it will go through anyway it will just cost more money,

He can start the process and then there will be various waiting times for her to respond to various documents.

She can delay it by not responding but ultimately it will go through anyway.

[millymollymoomoo]

She doesn’t need to agree

ultimately it’s best if they negotiate and agree a settlement. But if not, cage can proceed and get it to court and a judge will decide. The sooner he starts the process the better

[Sunshineandwaterfalls]

They look at what is in the best interests of the child before anything else. Can she afford to keep the house on her own? My husband has left and paid nothing towards the house. I can afford it on my own and my solicitor has said I can’t be made to leave (this contradicts what others have said above). Can she afford it on her own? If she can’t then she needs to sell and split the equity so they can both move on and house themselves.

[millymollymoomoo]

You can be made to leave, if a judge rules it’s required based your own unique set of circumstances

and in op case with a child so young it is highly unlikely she’d get to stay unless

she can buy out any share of equity split due and release him from the mortgage
he has loads of money enabling him to buy a house comfortably without needing any capital Stying up mortgage capability in this house

courts will look to sever any ongoing financial ties ( apart from child maintenance if due) as quickly as possible so a 17 year mesher is very very unlikely - even then she’d be expected to pay all mortgage and bills

[Jonathan70]

As @millymollymoomoo has said, it would be very unlikely that she would be able to stay in the family home for very long and would be expected to be able to take over paying the mortgage and bills. He needs to cover his living costs too and should not be expected to sofa surf. They should both look to see what they could be entitled to in terms of benefits etc.

There is a post on this within the legal matters section that is really good and refers to case law which I will try to find. Essentially, the court would want both parties to be able to house themselves and their child. So they both require a small 2 bed flat or house, which can be rented- it doesn’t have to be bought. The house will need to be sold. It may be that the weaker parter financially would receive more than 50% of the equity to help with housing and living costs. A solicitor will advise.

I would advise that he takes legal advice as soon as possible. I was told by my ex wife that she was entitled to stay in the family home with the children. I went to live with family and was there for years, impacting on my relationship with my children and the ability to move on with my life. I’ve since found out from a solicitor during my divorce that it is unlikely that a mesher order would have been ordered and the house would probably have been sold for us to rent suitable accommodation. I would advise he doesn’t listen to what his wife thinks but to talk to a solicitor about what is feasible given all the circumstances of their assets, income, earning potential, potential to receive benefits etc and go from there.
To answer the last bit, unless he’s a very high earner, she would be expected to pay the mortgage and bills.
Best wishes.