Recovering property following separation

[sneezecakesmum]

My BIL is currently sleeping in his lock up as he was thrown out of his house at christmas. He has a solicitor looking into this regarding division of the property and maintenance.
He owns a 4x4 (old) and a horsebox. His ExP says he cant have them as they are half hers. They are not married. He has all the documents, registered in his name, bills of sale, insurance etc. She did not pay anything towards the purchase. The police say as far as their concerned they are his property.
BUT ExP has immobilised the 4x4 with a steering wheel lock she bought, and the horsebox with 2 wheelclamps purchased together. From Jan this year it is illegal to unlawfully immobilise someone elses property (aimed at rogue wheel clampers). So can he cut the immobilisers off and take his property when she is not there, after informing police its what he intends to do? should he replace the immobilisers leave replacements in the garage? Is it criminal damage to damage her wheel clamp?

She has a car (again owned by him) which he is leaving with her so she can continue working.

Please don't suggest - ask her nicely, this is a woman who activated his bank card and emptied his private bank account, she doesnt play fair!

Think the law re immobilising vehicles has not yet gained royal assent - so probably not law yet cant find it anywhere official!

his car, he can do what he wants with it.

being sure she is out will help.

A cordles angle grinder will be fastest. might help to have a friend there to tow them away (don't assume they will drive)

He can even get a vehicle transporter to stick the 4x4 on piglet but worried about damaging her immobilisers. She had him arrested before (6 hours in a cell!) for breaking a window to get into his own house! So wants to be within the law. Whenever he does it he will make sure she's out ! Heaven knows what she'd accuse him of!

Call your local police staion and ask hem where he stands, once he has their go ahead then she can do whatever she likes!

lowreg has the right idea.
Get the police to accompany him.

Police have refused to accompany him!! He did ask nicely too! Its getting the steering wheel lock off without damaging it thats the problem. I did think he could just buy another and leave it in its place!

He'd get done for criminal damage if he damages it when removing it.

Has she got a set of keys? He should immobilise it himself if she has - perhaps by removing a sparkplug.

He's better off seeing a civil lawyer (ie not a family lawyer) who can advise on bringing a civil action re these things. He'll also have to bring an action against her for eviction.

I'm assuming they have no children together.

He must be careful not to break in to the property whilst she is there. That would be a criminal offence under the Crime Act 1977.

There is a very simple solution to this.

Cut off the steering lock & wheel clamps and take them away with you along with the car. Dispose of them.

When the police turn up after she's claimed criminal damage to the clamp & lock say "What lock? What clamp?" I didn't see no locks? Got any evidence?

Resolution - the wheel clamps on the horsebox came with it and he has bill of sale for this with wheel clamps specifically mentioned. so I think he can cut through them and no criminal damage.

The steering wheel clamp, he could buy a new one, exactly the same and give it to a neighbour with the keys and say it was removed undamaged (cutting the original off) (leaving a note in her letterbox to that effect) - I think he could get round it that way?
He doesnt want to immobilise it, he has a buyer for both items and the money will go to his solicitor re the house etc.
Regarding doing it the legal way, by the time he has reclaimed them she would have wrecked the engine, paintwork etc etc claiming vandals did it. She is very dog in a manger about this sort of thing, and it would be proving it and long drawn out. The Law is lovely in its correctness but in RL people dont play fair, and the vehicles are not worth the cost of the legal action!

Am very tempted by NiceGuys suggestion though!

There is a massive difference being married and unmarried in this situation and I think any half-decent lawyer will tell your bil this.
Basically, if unmarried what a person is entitled to in event of split is what they've paid for and can show they've paid for.
So if she can prove she made mortgage payments, she may be entitled to a bit of cash.
If it is genuinely a case of her not contributing a penny to house purchase, then I would be absolutely amazed if she gets a share of it. No, I'd go further- if this did happen the concept of property ownership in this country would go out the effing window!

Not quite right. Simply paying for something doesn't automatically entitle someone to be repaid that. It's in some ways a complex area of the law and in others quite simple.

Its only the 4x4 and the horsebox which is being held hostage. The house will go through solicitors as usual. He just wants the vehicles back to help pay for the solicitor. I thought it was simple if unmarried and if you paid for something and own it with all documents, its yours. Equally bank accounts in his name only belongs to him.

PS the house is jointly owned so all being sorted out by legal eagles (lets hope not Eddy!)

It is that simple over personal property.

Tsk... Lay people doing lawyers out of a job.

brill!