Am I entitled to half?

[Mumof2studentnurse]

Hi,

I don’t have an appointment with my solicitor (Scotland) until Monday, but I’m really in need of some advice or reassurance in the meantime.

My husband has told me he’s leaving me.

We’ve been married for 11 years, and we bought our home together 5 years ago. However, only his name is on the mortgage.

Initially, he said he would sell the house to me so I could stay here with the children, but he keeps changing his mind. Any time I say something he doesn’t like, he threatens to put the house on the market. Today, after yet another upsetting conversation, I told him I would find a new home and no longer wanted to stay here. (He started shouting and saying that I would never get a house and because of my debts i have no chance of managing to get anywhere else)

I know that I will need some of the equity from this house to get started, so I asked whether he had made any progress with the separation agreement, which he started shortly after telling me he was leaving. He said he hasn’t done anything more with it yet and then claimed I’m not entitled to any equity in the house because its in his name. I told him that, since we are married, I believed I would be entitled to 50%, but he is saying I am wrong about this.

I know I’ll get proper legal advice on Monday, but I’m feeling very unsettled and unsure in the meantime. Has anyone been through something similar? Is there any truth to what he’s saying?

Not necessarily half, can be more, can be less. It doesn’t matter which name it is in. I’m mid divorce and the house is in my name only because of ex’s shocking credit. But he will still get a share.

They will consider total assets and split those fairly, with 50/50 as the usual starting point. But it isn’t always an equal split.

High level in a marriage I believe you would typically have three different rights based on my very very rough view of how things work (I am not a lawyer but for personal reasons looked into it in detail). The first is that marital assets ie ones created / earned during the marriage would typically go 50 / 50 and for a longish marriage this usually includes the marital home even if it was owned beforehand by one person (but wouldn’t include both assets built up before the marriage - cash/property/shares - and assets gained through inheritance). The second is that to the extent possible both parties should have their reasonable needs met out of the assets which is usually housing but can also include supplementing the lower paid parties income (particularly if that lower paid party gave up their job to look after kids for a long time, for example) - so if there are enough assets to buy both parties a similar housing as the one they live in currently great, and if not you need to do the best you can out of the combined assets (and sometimes the future income of the parties) to meet those needs. Lastly, there is child maintenance and needs to support them. All of these would be avenues for you to claim against the house you live in regardless of who is on the mortgage.

We only have our home, our pensions and a very cheap car as assets. So there really isn't very much. I am sure the equity in the house is around 50,000. Our pensions are fairly similar (similar incomes for the duration of our marriage) - his is maybe a little bit more than me because I have had time on maternity with our 2 children and I went part-time at work when I was studying to become a nurse.

I did work 7 days a week for the last year to try and pay off our debts and help us move into a nicer house for the kids - but i dont think any of that really comes into it.

I just really hope that I don't lose my share of this home, simply because its in his name!

I don’t know about Scotland but in England you can register home rights with land registry which means he can’t sell or borrow against house without your interest being disclosed to a buyer or mortgage company and they would want your consent. You have the right to live there as married regardless of whose name it’s in and a right to share.

The matrimonial ones act 1981 has it as a joint asset which will be divided based on need so you will be fine

Most people on here will be English and referring to English law.

Scottish law is very different.

The fact the house was bought during the marriage will be a bonus. If he had the house before you married it would be very different.

Agree, the comments above are not entirely accurate as this is Scotland. Pensions are also treated differently in Scotland and in general I would say that things that happened during the marriage carry more sway than those before it.

Scottish law is similar in that it will still be considered matrimonial property even though his name is on it. More likely to be straight 50:50 in Scotland but can be varied

50/50 in Scotland. I’m not on the mortgage either but my solicitor told me when we bought our house that it’s 1/2 mine.

The starting point is 50/50 on assets accrued during the marriage. However, also considered is who gave up income for children (and thus earning potential, promotion, impact on future earning) and who will bear the cost of children in the future. He needs to stop shouting at you. Quite simply, that is abuse and is a tactic to frighten you and essentially control you. You will feel reassured after speaking to your lawyer. If this is making you ill/stressed, document that with your GP.

Op is in Scotland where division is different

I'm really needing some legal advice so I am glad my appointment is tomorrow. Things here are really awful. I work as a nurse and he knows my hours but he hasn't been coming back here - he's not been letting me know - he simply doesn't come back, so i am having to cancel patient appointments and have days off of my work so I can get the kids to and from school and be here with them after school hours. Then after a few day's he will randomly show up (usually hungover) he will either sunbathe in the garden, or sleep his hangover off on the sofa - and I just sit in my bedroom until i hear him leave again. Any interaction we have becomes awful. He is trying to get the kids more than 50% of the time but I think it's because he has realised that he can't afford to live in this house or have his current lifestyle without my income - so he will want me to give him maintenance. He is pretending to everyone that he is a doting dad - but here I am doing 100% of the parenting while he is who knows where! I am trying my best to have a big smile and keep my children's lives filled with happiness - but its hard when they are asking where dad is and I have to say 'oh dads at work' when the reality is, I have no idea where he is (but I do know its not at work)

Good luck tomorrow OP. You will feel better when you have actual facts to go on.
Will be thinking of you. 🌷