Tennants in common help please

[suzymea]

Hi, i have been divorced from my ex husband for 15 years we didn't do anything about our property at the time. he moved out and i still live there, we don't talk. I am going to take a notice of severance round to his last known address and submit a SEV form to the land registry and relevant evidence etc.

My question is, do the land registry send confirmation to both owners about the change? if so, what address do they use to send him the confirmation?

I am not an expert in these matters but -

Firstly - isn't it normal for the courts to require a financial settlement before the divorce is finalised? I don't know why this wasn't agreed 15 years ago.

I wouldn't think that it's appropriate to do a SEV form without considering the wider financial issues - are you sure that a 50:50 split of the house is appropriate? If you sever the joint tenancy then effectively you each own 50% independently. You currently occupy and control 100%. You haven't given any info about the wider financial circumstances but it might be appropriate for you to retain a larger share of the property than 50%. Who has been paying the mortgage for the past 15 years? Or was it already owned outright at the time of your split.

The value of a 50% share of a property where the other tenant is completely untraceable is effectively zero as you couldn't possibly sell your 50% share to anyone.

I think you need some proper professional advice here.

I had a brain hemorrhage weeks before the divorce so to be honest i can't remember why financials weren't discussed, obviously looking back now i know they should have been, it was a divorce that citizen advice helped me with and not a solicitor.

My understanding is that we can sever the tenancy now and agree a % share at a later date via a solicitor. I have been paying the mortgage.

I should have been more clear, i know he lives at the address where i'll serve the notice but we aren't on talking terms so i'd rather at least secure 50% now so the house doesn't go to him if anything happens to me.

Have you had an legal advice at all? Do you that normally solicitors do a free 30 min consultation to begin with to find out about the case and you can normally get lots of questions in.

Also for what ever reason you can divorce without financials being sorted - it's just not advised.

You are probably due more then 50%

30 minutes free consultation with a solicitor is a myth in most cases. Better to pay for some decent legal advice before you go ahead.

Land Registry will serve notice on the address for service in the register. That's the address provided for him at entry B1 in the Proprietorship Register of your title.