Ex stopped paying mortgage

[RonRonRonWeasley]

Ex moved out a year ago and we agreed he would pay half of mortgage and then when we sell he gets half of obey from house sale. However, he’s stopped paying now leaving me which the full mortgage and laughing about he’s still getting half of the house when we sell in a few years (a few years because I have young children and need to get back to work to get a mortgage by myself). Is there anything I can do to protect the amount I’m paying now? Anything that can be put in place to show I’ve paid the mortgage from this point? Thanks , I’m just so stressed.

Sorry it’s full of spelling errors, I hope you can make sense of it.

Can you check with the solicitor that drew up the original plan? I should think realistically thank bank statements would be sufficient?

Call your lender and inform them of the situation and consult a solicitor. If you can’t afford a solicitor speak to citizens advice.

No he can't carry on not paying for years and then claim half the house value. The advice seems to be inform your lender then seek legal advice. I would get the legal advice first. Does he pay you then you pay the mortgage.

Are/were you married? Is the agreement in writing?

I'm assuming you aren't married.

Contrary to the advice given above he can stop paying and claim half the proceeds of sale further down the line. You have exclusive occupation of the property.

He should be paying you child maintenance. Have you gone to the CMS? Would any assessment compensate for the lack of his half of the mortgage payments?

If you are married then my advice would be different.

According to what I read on line both parties are responsible for paying a joint mortgage regardless of who lives in the house and what private arrangements they have between them. One person cannot simply walk away from their obligations.

Yes we are married and hoping to start the divorce process soon. I’ve been told the bank don’t care who pays it as long as it pays so technically he can just stop sending money for it which has now forced me to pay the full amount.

We are married. I know you are saying I have exclusive use, but why should he have half of what I’m paying when we sell? He has also demanded to still have a key and waltzes in whenever he wants because he prefers to see the kids here as he doesn’t like them making a mess at his, and he feeds them from my food here rather than taking them to his for dinner. This is all whilst I’m at work so I can’t stop this.

Can you change the locks? I'm not sure how you would stand doing that if his name is on the house. Seek legal advice OP.

You just need to evidence you have paid all of it and for how long - so bank payments and amounts. If the court agreement is that he pays half and then it gets split then go back and get it altered so that if his half is not paid and you can evidence that then your proportion of the house increases, as does the increase in value of the house that is attributed to you.

You can stop things, change the locks, stop allowing him access at the property if necessary get an anti harrassment order in place, simplest of all don't have food in he can feed them with. Why is he even in the house etc

@RonRonRonWeasley

Yes we are married and hoping to start the divorce process soon. I’ve been told the bank don’t care who pays it as long as it pays so technically he can just stop sending money for it which has now forced me to pay the full amount.

Glad you're married. More protection that way.

Firstly don't panic.

Secondly, When is your next mortgage payment due? Scrape together the money as much as you can. Don't be scared to ask for help- I would totally give friends and family a mortgage payment in this situation.

Thirdly, call your mortgage provider and tell them what's happening. It's absolutely fine - they will have heard it all before. You never know what help they will be able to give you.

Fourthly, have you instructed a solicitor about divorce yet? If yes, call her and talk it through. If not, call your solvable solicitors today and say you want to instruct them about a divorce and you need legal advice TODAY about the house. They should give you a ring to talk you through what is happening.

Finally, your ex is clearly a twat. Soz but he is. Gather all financial information you possibly can. Take photos of important financial docs and send them to your mum (or someone) for safekeeping. You'll need all this for the divorce.

I'm sorry this is happening. You can do it.

I moved out and stopped paying the mortgage so our divorce agreement included a clause that I got less equity (whatever 2 years of payments were iirc) to reflect the time I had not been contributing to the mortgage.

Would it be worth getting the house valued now at the point he's stopped paying? Then you can say well anything above X is entirely mine when we sell down the line.

Hi OP I'm in exactly the same situation. I've told my mortgage lender and am paying my half of the mortgage. There is something called equitable accounting principles which means that when it comes to the sale of a house you can be awarded more because have paid the mortgage and more if you have paid to maintain the house so keep a record of all your mortgage payments and all receipts for any expenditure you have made to maintain the house. Your solicitor will help with that.

Stop him coming into the house. I had this scenario, the legal view is that after they've moved out of the house keeping letting themselves in after 6 months of living elsewhere is considered unreasonable. I changed the locks.

This won't be what you want to hear but the equity will be split 50/50, they may take off the months he doesn't pay but that will in all likelihood be not inclusive of interest will be based on equity.

So most mortgages your paying £400 of interest and the £200 is equity to pay off the remaining balance. So the amount they may remove will be for equity only. Check this amount with your mortgage provider, you may find it shocking how little is actually going towards the equity of the house.

Also from a legal perspective he doesn't have to pay for years on a mortgage until your ready to work, the house will need to be sold and a financial arrangement drawn up for the kids

Courts won't say you get to control the timeline of the sale to what suits you (regardless of who did what or what ended the divorce) and paying to maintain a house that he doesn't reside in will be deemed financially unfair. I would change the locks when he stops and remove that hassle from your life.

I get this puts the pressure on you re child care but that will be handled by child maintenance which is a somewhat separate issues.

I'm sorry your dealing with this. Might be worth asking if you can switch to a interest only mortgage while you weather the storm. Get that divorce started pronto because you will be worse off the longer it drags on.

As you are married you can access various remedies - mostly within divorce proceedings so if I were you I'd get the ball rolling on that pretty quick.

An application for an occupation order should now be considered. You have him coming in at any time. The court has the power to:

1. Order him not to enter the house.
2. Order him to pay towards the mortgage.

You should also consider an application for maintenance pending suit as an alternative.

You haven't said whether he's been assessed for CMS maintenance. If he's only been paying towards the mortgage then if the CMS assessment is for a similar amount you have your remedy there.

There are various things the court takes in to account when dividing equity on divorce. If one spouse leaves, leaving the other to pay on their own, the remaining spouse should get credit for capital repayments but no more. Whatever people may agree in their own divorces doesn't change what a judge is likely to do in the event that there is no agreement.

Would it be worth getting the house valued now at the point he's stopped paying? Then you can say well anything above X is entirely mine when we sell down the line

Won't work. The court values the property as it is on the day the decision is made.

This won't be what you want to hear but the equity will be split 50/50, they may take off the months he doesn't pay but that will in all likelihood be not inclusive of interest will be based on equity.

No one can predict how the equity will be shared. It may well not be 50/50, which is why OP needs to take legal advice because people are quick here to make a legal diagnosis knowing only 5% of the relevant facts.

Everything @Collaborate said.

He doesn't get to call the shots.

CMS. Solicitor. Divorce.

And tell him to fuck off. If he is now not paying the mortgage he can stay out of your house!

He's right, if you pay he will still get a % in the divorce settlement. However if you get legal advice now you can tie it up so he only gets a % of the value it is now, and not when you sell or any equity you've paid off. But it does need to be done legally.

I paid the mortgage for 18 months and my exdh benefitted from it. However I stood firm on things like pensions to make up for it.

However if you get legal advice now you can tie it up so he only gets a % of the value it is now,

This is wrong.

It’s not unusual for one party who has exclusive rights to the property and is paying 100. % of the mortgage to still have to split full share of equity, because presumably the other party is having to rent or pay accommodation elsewhere

However what no one can state here is whether he can be made to contribute now while divorce in progress or what final % would be.

That’s why you need a solicitor.

Hi im in same boat with my ex. They can claim on the property and unless you have a financial order in place from divorce they can also claim on any further property you buy in your name as marital compensation.