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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.

Divorce and Settlement

4 replies

Outofcomfort · 24/01/2025 21:23

Just after some general advice. My wife left me 2 years ago, suddenly and not really expected. We have been amicable, but with no children contact has been limited. I purchased a house in my name only (due to her employment status /credit rating at the time) 9 years ago. In this time I have paid the whole mortgage as for the majority of the time she was unable to work due to health. When she left me, she left the home and applied for social housing / benefits which she was granted and has been receiving since. She has not needed money from me, from any assets etc to live or survive. She has now applied for a divorce through a solicitor. I have always been reasonable, and accept I will have to sell the house for her settlement, but I am just worried it will end up being unfair? She has a property - that is paid for by universal credit, if she takes a big share of the equity (about 80k) - I will be homeless and struggling to purchase / rent due to the current ridiculous costs. We have no savings etc because of the fact she didn't work for over 6 years). I also had to stop paying into my pension for five years to ensure I could meet the mortgage payments, because she wasn't working, although I am back paying my contributions now. Am I being unreasonable to expect her to take a smaller settlement, maybe 16k so she can still keep her benefits and allow me to still buy a house in the same area (granted a smaller house - but that isn't the issue at all), I just to be able to live somewhere. FYI - we were married and together for 9 years before she left, but living together 14 years.

OP posts:
4Candle · 25/01/2025 01:33

50/50 I imagine, would she agree to less?

Raynexxbow · 25/01/2025 01:39

I'm not sure why you are asking mumsnet, think you need a solicitor

devastatedagain · 25/01/2025 01:43

I think you've got a really good case for you to keep the house as she is already housed.

Could you split the pension 50/50 instead?

Tosca23 · 25/01/2025 08:46

You need to book to see a solicitor. It depends on length of marriage and what you put in to it can also be taken in to account marginally though from what I’ve read.

With long marriages it is usually 50:50 but if you could show you contributed more you may be able to try to argue for 60:40 potentially but if your ex says no go then you may just have to suck up 50:50. A lot with divorce is negotiation. Pensions too though need to be factored in and taken in to account along with other marital assets. So you have to look at whole marital pot, not just the house then calculate the split from there.

Im not sure whose name the house is in makes much difference, ask a solicitor.

You need to see a solicitor so you have an idea of a likely outcome if it ended up at court. Court best avoided of course though. Most people reach agreements via solicitors and even better in some cases via mediation.

www.familylawpartners.co.uk/blog/length-marriage-divorce

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