Can my dad pay husband off. Will judge agree to a simple financial/consent order?

[Lookingforward864]

My dad bought our house for us 100% but the house is in mine and husbands name. We drew up a declaration of trust with the solicitor 80% ownership me and 20% ownership husband. Husband didn't pay anything in, this was just a gesture of good will from my dad. On the land registry it says we are tenants in commen.

We are separating. My dad is willing to pay him 30% of the current value for him to leave. I think this is favourable. I then keep the house .

There are no other assets involved, no savings, I have no pension and he has quite a small on which im not interested in.

If we all agree, can we avoid a complicated financial order process , not fill in Form E financial questionnaire and just keep it very simple?

A financial order will have to detail all finances so if the split resulted in him walking away with a small % of the total martial assets a judge would likely ask for further details. I assume you will also want a clean break with just CMS payable.

Consider documenting further children costs such as Uni expenses, although it depends on how amicable the eventual agreement is

It could be said that you have contributed less than him according to your argument. You haven’t worked enough or earns enough to pay for the large house, the large bills and holidays etc and lifestyle that you have had. So hopefully the court will not accept your paltry unfair offer. For the length of time you have been together it should be a much more even split with whoever the kids are living with having a slightly larger share.

Ps it doesn’t help you but for any one else reading in similar position, if he was getting 20% of the house id have made him use some of that big salary to pay for the house! Presumably he’s managed to create a huge pension or savings/investment pot (unless he’s a moron) which is also a marital asset, which can pay for his new home (unless he’s been a moron and sniffed it all up his nose or something)

I've always been lead to believe that you need a final financial order to sever all money ties, including any monies you may come into post divorce which without the final settlement an ex is entitled to have a claim on.

It's so important to get a clean break order.

Well if she has to split the house 5050 he’d have to
split his pensions and savings that should be huge by now if he’s never had any housing costs

If you say the bills are extremely high on this big house, how are you going to pay the bills on minimum wage? Between you neither have accrued any assets over this time despite not having a mortgage so I don't see how you can keep the house on your wage anyway.

No one here can tell you, you need a solicitor. Think how this would read if it was a man chucking a woman out. You’ve obviously both benefitted from your DF’s generosity, you by working in a minimum wage job and him by not having to contribute to house purchase costs. That said, it sounds like he has paid for all bills etc for years whilst you’ve brought in nothing. I’m not sure what you’re suggesting is fair, TBH.

I had 80/20 tenancy in common with my ex husband - whilst I believe marriage trumps a tenancy in common the court signed off not far off that in the divorce settlement - I kept all my pensions worth £100k to his £10k - in the end the total asset split worked out 70/30 roughly on my favour and that was only as whilst he only contributed 20% of the deposit he did pay half the mortgage for 10 years

Presumably he’s managed to create a huge pension or savings/investment pot (unless he’s a moron)

A further update suggests she is on min wage so his earnings whilst multiple of hers might not be exactly huge. She says small pension but that should be valued.

This is a case of both parties doing well whilst married, she had the gifted house so mortgage was zero and he was able to fund their life however separation will make finances more challenging.

Op, Both of you have lived rent/mortgage free so that's a fortunate position. Assuming he has always worked it's better to look to what is best for the children, as in being housed adequately by both parents.It's natural in the heat of divorce to want to punish the other partner but fairness will lead to a better outcome for everyone. Consider you will have events with this man because you have children so try to figure a solution that both of you can live with.

Op, if you earn £20k and his £60k has mostly gone on super high bills and holidays, how are you planning on affording said bills?
(note no one is trying to get at you here, but forewarned is forearmed and to keep saying that he hasn’t paid a penny isn’t true.)

OP addressed pensions and savings in her first post.

Its not complicated. As you have a declaration of trust. He is only entitled to 20%. Do not try to negotiate with a solicitor.

Daddy I expect 🙄

I honestly can’t fathom why he signed it!!

Nope, not the case. They are married

Exactly. I've asked this earlier upthread.

He’s paid all the bills and holidays.

And no doubt cars, upkeep, insurances and basically everything else

So he has ‘paid a penny ’ All the bills on the big house. Can you afford the bills on your minimum wage job ?
if he gets 50-50 kids he won’t have to pay maintenance.

The kids are 14 and 16 so they’ll live where they want to live

Deeds of trust (or declarations of trust) are not automatically cancelled by marriage but are often superseded by the
Matrimonial Causes Act 1973during a divorce. While they serve as evidence of initial intentions for property shares, family courts can override them to ensure a fair, "needs-based" division of assets.

oh dear!

Your dad seems to be a large factor both in terms of buying him out of the marital property (at whatever percentage share) and also meeting ongoing costs of bills and utilities. This is partly due to the lack of other assets (savings/pension should have been possible to accrue with no housing costs) to offset property share and partly due to the fact that your income would seem to be insufficient to meet outgoings excluding housing costs.

Your STBEX may think he is lucky to get 20% value of a house he didn’t purchase and be happy to keep his income with no ongoing maintenance and pension and agree a consent order. Or he might apply to court for 50:50 of all marital assets and be willing for his income, savings and pension to be included. Hypothetically would your dad be willing to buy him out at 50% and then pay bills etc for you and your DC to stay in your home?

I would get legal advice.

• *Court Discretion: Judges in divorce proceedings have wide-ranging powers to set aside or vary the terms of a trust.*
• *Validity Post-Marriage: While not cancelled, a trust's strength is significantly weakened after marriage*
• *Factors Considered: The court will look at the length of the marriage, the needs of the children, and the financial standing of both parties. *
• Osbornes Law +5

For maximum protection during marriage, consider a pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement, as a Declaration of Trust alone may not protect your assets in a divorce

@Wingingit73 simply not correct

You’ve had good free ride too though. You’ve also not paid the mortgage and been given a free home for life and from what you say, he was the one paying all the bills. It doesn’t sound like he’s had any more of a free ride than you have.

You say he hasn’t paid a penny in 23 years but then go on to say he pays all bills and that those bills are high, he covers Xmas, holidays and appliances too? He hardly sounds like a man having a free ride like you say.

Can you actually afford to support yourself? Dont answer that if you don’t want to but you say your money only covers fuels and food, if you’ve not been able to save or increase your earning potential, can you actually afford to pay your own bills yourself? Or would your dad be taking that on too?

If I had the spare wealth I’d be giving my daughter a free house, and all the money I could to make her life as comfortable as possible. But I’d a bit 🤔 if she was claiming her husband has had a free ride during their marriage.