I'm close to leaving my abusive husband. My parents are using all their life savings to buy a flat that I can move into with the children. I'm getting support from Women's Aid and I've got a one hour free consultation with a solicitor. I want to make sure I get the most use out of this free appointment, as I won't be able to pay for any more appointments.
Basically I am wondering how much money I can realistically get out of our house. We bought it together a year ago with a joint mortgage, we are joint owners and we're married. He contributed most of the deposit from his personal savings, and I contributed about 15% of the deposit from my personal savings. Once we moved in I stopped working, so his salary is paying the mortgage. If I move out to the flat my parents are buying, how can I actually get some money from my own home? Would I try and force a sale? (although in a way I'd like him to keep it so it's not too disruptive for the children) Or can I insist he gives me some money from it?
The other question is about maintenance. Women's aid said nowadays you always get joint custody of the children. If we had 50-50 custody would he actually need to pay me any maintenance? I'm sure he should as he earns £100k and I earn £75 a week term time only, with no option of earning during school holidays. If he does owe me maintenance, how soon would he need to give it to me? Would I need to wait until we're divorced?
The worry is that I don't have a single penny of my own left, and I'd move into a flat that had used all my parents money, and they wouldn't be able to support me living there.
Getting benefits is also a problem, I've claimed them before and there's about a 3 month turnaround time between filling in the forms and getting any money. But I can't really claim them until I've moved out, as obviously living with my husband I'm not entitled to anything.
Any advice gratefully received!!