Recent separation, house his on deeds and 2 x mortgages-can I make him pay these mortgages AND get maintenance??

[Hotlips99]

Help!! My long term unmarried partner left me last year after 16 years together. We have two daughters (12 and 14) who are mainly resident with me (he has them 1 to 2 nights per week, is living in a house share with others) He inherited the house that I am still living in by his late father, with no mortgage outstanding at the time but during our 12 years there, he took two mortgages out (consolidation of debts, upgrading the house etc) and both home loans are in his name only. The house is also his and his alone on the deeds. Since leaving me, he has continued to pay both the mortgages (£625.00 pcm total) from his separate bank account but is now saying I should not be asking for child maintenance on top, which I want. I want £300 pcm to help me out with the girls. I work three days weekly part time, get WTC, CTC and CBen and effectively I live rent free. He is clear he wants the children to inherit the house and that I am in no danger of having to move out until both daughters come of age and decide what they want to do with the property. He is happy for me to live there rent free with him paying both the mortgages as long as I pay for the council tax and all the household bills. He says he can't afford to give me £300 pcm as well, as it would take £900 pcm out of his wage a month. He earns £26K gross per year? I am going to see a solicitor as I want that maintenance as well. I feel he should be paying HIS mortgages on HIS house anyway, is responsible for the roof over our heads, that I should not have to pay anything towards HIS mortgages on HIS house AND that HE should be giving me separate child maintenance too! Am I wrong? What is my position legally? Has anyone else gotten the all the mortgage paid AND maintenance on top? Thanks in advance.

They weren't married and she contributed nothing to the house. She has no claim. He could should charge her market rent.

I actually was serious!! I only get £780.00 wages a month and then my working benefits on top!

So how much do you get in benefits then?

I didn't ask for him to leave

Doesn't matter.

I don't see why I should pay HIS mortgages for him on HIS house, despite the fact I get to live here for free!*

Wow just wow.

he has to home them!

You both do!

They love this house, why shouldn't we all stay here?!

As you keep pointing out, it is HIS house and YOU are contributing nothing.

I am also convinced he was seeing someone before he left, he certainly has someone now!

Makes no differences to finances.

Someone told me I CAN get the mortgages paid by him as they are HIS!

Did that someone also tell you that HE CAN also get you to move out?

Why should I go without any maintenance too???

Why shouldn't you pay rent!

Sorry, he is giving you more than he actually is legally required to. If you moved out (as he is perfectly entitled to ask you to), you would have to pay your own rent, plus would only get about £300 a month from him. You are doing quite well out of it. You should be focusing on what you are going to do when the kids leave home.

Why don't you have a look at the CMS website. Pop his details in, see what they recommend is the (minimum) amount owed each month. Add on your wages, then go on to entitledto website and see how it looks, assuming you were renting privately.

I am not saying it's right, or its fair, but as you aren't married, your rights are really very limited.

If you want the £300 so much. Move out and pay rent elsewhere.

You are getting a good deal.

OP keep on the way you're going and he'll put you out of the house and pay you CSA minimum. you'll have to pay rent on wherever you go to. Which seems the most attractive option to you?

Probably about £600-£700 pcm if renting privately? Nice house, nice area. But it is HIS house. Surely he has to pay for it, especially as his daughters still live in it?? But that isn't maintenance!! Does that mean if he pays the mortgages, then he has done his bit by us and I cannot get any separate maintenance on top?

Of course he should pay the mortgage on HIS house but equally he's entitled to live in it (which he isn't).

By my reckoning, you get £780 a month in wages, £300 a month in CM and probably a few hundred quid in WTC. So in terms disposable money, you must have much more than him - CT and utilities can't be much more than £300 a month which probably leaves you with £1k spare for the rest. Which is more than you want to leave him with - and he has to house himself out of that.

I think he's being more than generous but there's a simple solution - rent somewhere, see if you can claim HB to help and get your £300 CM from him.

OP you don't say how much the WTC and CTC add on to your wages. So how much do you actually get each month?

I think that since he is paying the equivalent of full rent for you that to ask him for another £300 will leave him struggling with basic living costs.

And by your own admission, some of the loans that were taken against the house, were for home improvements. So by that same vein, why should he be paying for you to benefit from it on a day to day basis?

Nice house, nice area. But it is HIS house

Which HE isn't living in and YOU aren't even paying any rent.

Tell you what. You pay the £600 rent and ask him for the £300 CM.

Op- he doesn't have to pay for you to have somewhere to live. He could evict you and only give you the maintenance of £300. You would be much worse off this way. Right now he is giving you the equivalent of 600 which could cover rent, and you get to stay in a home you presumably like.

I know exactly what op is saying.

It's win win for him. He pays to the op and yes she lives there rent free but at the end still has nothing to show.

Meanwhile the money he is paying is benefiting him.

So having decided to leave his partner and children, he arranges things so his bread is still buttered.

And op is 'lucky' because she's not paying rent.

But she has two nearly teenage daughters who will want at a guess - jack wills merchandise and phone contracts and bus fares and lunches and cinema tickets and bowling and train fares.

And that's just the 'social' stuff. The essentials are food and teenage girls need it! And school shoes and school uniforms and music lessons and maybe a private tutor to help them through that gcse they are struggling with and help them through.

Meanwhile he's doing his bit but it's benefiting him

Dragon, I don't get £300 pcm maintenance yet but it's what I want!! I don't get a penny from him, he just pays the 2 x mortgages on the house from his own bank account. We've never had a joint account? He's still paying the mortgages but doesn't give me any money separately on top?

So, think of it this way OP. Would you seriously expect your ex to continue paying, indefinitely, if you were living in a rented property? And pay you CM on top?

I can't honestly believe anybody could think that was a fair deal.

Yes, he should be paying you £299 a month.
But no, he has absolutely no legal responsibility to let you live in a house that he owns, rent free. Absolutely none. So he could charge you rent or he could ask you to leave. You are not entitled to half of his take home pay, that's insane.

Yes, but he could equally evict her, rent the house out to cover his mortgage and just give her the minimum maintenance, whilst she has to pay her own rent and find somewhere to live. He only has 26k a year.

You don't get a penny from him but you get £600 of free housing every month.

Her income sounds similar to his. He is paying £600 a month plus his own rent and bills. She get to keep most of her income. She's better off financially than he is.

In fact she should be saving for when she needs to be self sufficient. She could even increase her hours.

That's what happens when don't get married.

If a woman inherited her parents' house no one would think it fair that her unmarried ex wanted a share of it having contributed nothing.

You don't get a penny from him but you get £600 of free housing every month.

^ this.

I usually fall down on the side of the women who post here but you are getting the equivalent of £600 pcm and you can't expect any more on top.

If you don't want him to 'benefit' from doing it this way then simply move out. It's honestly as easy as that.

By staying put your £300-400 a month better off, by not having to pay actual rent. If you did rent, CM would no doubt go towards that and you'd have to find the shortfall from your own income.

If he's paying the mortgage of £625 a month, surely that is saving you £625 a month? Or am I over simplifying it? He could legally ask you to rent it from him or sell it, keep the money and just give you maintenance only. I think he is being reasonable.

He could make you move out and then you'd get your £280 a month (cms calculation) and that would go on rent and then you'd have to pay out more on rent from your own money. You may also have to move several times if you were private renting which would be unstable for the dc and costly for you.

You live rent free.
Your home is secure.
He has the dc 2 days a week (which would reduce the cms money further btw)
You work, get benefits and have the ability to find a full time job meaning you could increase your income and start saving.

I have two children and a partner working 40 hours on nmw and we get 800 in ctc and wtc. You may be getting that or slightly more or less but it's got to be in that region. On top of your income and cb, you are considerably better off than many.

I'd stop banging on about maintenance because he could sell the house if he can't afford both. Then you would be without a home and financially worse off.

Maybe he should move back in, evict her, keep the dcs where they are and get maintenance off her?