Splitting the house

[Teaformetoo]

Can someone advise me please on how a house is split - is it always 50:50 or do other factors come into play? I think my stbxh will push for equal but I have the children full time so would need ensure I could provide a house big enough to accommodate me and the children. Does this matter? Who decides if we can’t agree ourselves? Thanks in advance

If the house is in both your names and both contributed equally then surely 50:50 is fair

Other factors will come into it

eg
other assets
omcomes potential of both
lentgh of marriage
both parties housing needs ) he also needs house suitable for him and children
ages of parties inc children
Ability to raise mortgage
wtc

https://www.mediateuk.co.uk/who-gets-the-house-in-a-divorce-uk/

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what do you mean/expect by “big enough to accommodate”
sharing rooms, parent sleeping on a sofa bed can be considered adequate.
it is somewhat based on your financial reality going forward.

well it will come Down to what assets there are. They won’t leave one parent with all assets the other with nothing in order to Provide a house big enough to accommodate you and children’ but courts priority will to ensure children have suitable housing - your definition vs theirs could differ.

What’s the financial situation?

As others have said, you have to look at whole marital pot to start and work from there. Pensions can be quite valuable and you would need to get CETV valuations of pensions. You sum up all assets (minus any debts) and work from there.

Depending on age of children and if they will live most of the time with one parent, a 60:40 split of assets in the favour of that parent may be more appropriate. It depends. More information is needed on assets/situation.

My best friend and his wife are miserable, and he is considering divorce, but he has no idea what the split would be if he were to suggest it (it really is heading this way).

They both work, but he earns way more. The house is in joint names, but he paid the deposit himself and he pays the mortgage. In fact, he pays for everything. They have two kids, both in college. He is scared he will end up in a bedsit and lose everything he has worked for his entire career.

Presumably though, his wife gave up her career to allow him to progress in his whilst she cared for their children? It seems a lot of the higher earners forget about these sacrifices when they are ready to divorce. If she hadn’t had to be available for the children, she could well have been earning a lot more money now.

She did indeed give up work to raise the kids, and he freely admits that he couldn't have achieved what he achieved without her.

There is no animosity there, they have both just become house mates.

Thanks for confirming - it initially read that he felt he “deserved” more because he had the higher income and had paid for more. I hope they can come to a fair arrangement - which might be that and gets more simply because she won’t have the earning potential that he does.