Ex H cashing in on me dying.

[HelpIcantfindaname]

I have Stage 4 cancer, prognosis about 10 months. I had to give up work & am struggling to pay my bills while still having a mortgage.

Ex H & I took out decreasing mortgage cover when our daughter was born. I have paid all premiums. I have always paid the mortgage. The house is in my name as I bought it before I met ex hubby.

He left for OW when DD was 7. We divorced 4 years later. We did it online. I petitioned, he paid half costs. We did not do a clean break.

I have claimed the mortgage insurance early. The company have agreed to pay out but told me ex H is legally entitled to half as his name is still on the policy.

Ex H wants his half. To me it's like giving him free money, he's cashing in on me dying. If I'd been able to work till I'd paid my mortgage there would be no payout. This policy was not originally taken out to allow anyone to have a windfall. It's for our daughters security.

When I die she wants to remain living in this house with my current husband & her stepbrother.

Macmillan gave me the number of Legacare, they help cancer patients with small fees & first consultation free to see if there is a case but I haven't heard back from them yet. I called another solicitor - they want £1k upfront just to open a case, & then £350 per hour. I don't have that money.

Also, as I've remarried I can't claim anything from ex H. He owns his own house now, which he bought before the divorce.He can claim on my estate. If we did a clean break now he would be alerted to my other assets - could he refuse a clean break so he can go after my life insurance, pension & house? My will leaves these to my family, but could he contest?

Please can anyone advise?

Op did you receive a lump sum with your pension to put that towards paying the mortgage off? Unfortunately, leaving your ex on the policy because it was cheaper to do so now means that he will probably receive half of it. Morally reprehensible of him but within the policy terms.

As I said earlier- I left banking over 20 years ago but I assume the policy was taken out with the main purpose of paying off the mortgage if one of you died.
When I worked in mortgages we would have taken a charge over the policy so that if it paid out the bank would have first call on the proceeds before any left over was distributed.
Might be worth talking to your mortgage lender.

So this was a decreasing joint life first death insurance policy? Set up specifically to pay off the outstanding balance of the mortgage, rather than pay out a lump sum? Is that correct?
I don’t know why your ex would receive half in that case.

@HelpIcantfindaname There should be 3 dots at the top of your OP. Click on that and one of the options is edit.

I always thought this type of policy was specifically to pay off the mortgage??? I’d be going through the terms and conditions with a fine tooth comb and most definitely you need to pay for legal advice as I really don’t think any of us can add much that’s helpful.

So rude

Very few life insurance policies are assigned to mortgage lenders nowadays. Typically they'll be taken out with just an intention of the proceeds being used to clear the mortgage. In reality the proceeds can be used in any way the policyholder(s) chooses. If its a jointly owned policy, not assigned or written in trust, then the early (terminal illness) proceeds will be split equally between the policy owners. If OP doesn't take the early payout, eventually the ex would get the whole lot.

@RebelMoon would it be a condition of the mortgage offer that the policy is taken out for this purpose?

Usually not nowadays. It often used to be the case that mortgage lenders insisted on life cover assigned to them but nowadays they usually just recommend that you get life cover. Very few are assigned.

@RebelMoon what you say makes sense, sadly. And also sadly, so far, I don't think anyone has any new ideas on this thread, compared to the one the other day. Hoping someone comes along soon with a "eureka" type idea for the OP.

@GoingDownLikeBHS there was a similar thread a few weeks ago. Sadly there was no eureka moment in that one.

This is something people should consider carefully when taking out jointly owned policies. Worth considering two single life policies instead, if you can afford it.

This. I used to assess these life/terminal illness claims and unfortunately there would be cases like this every so often. Joint policies can be absolutely assigned during a divorce so that both lives remain covered but only one owns the policy, but that's obviously not happened here.

OP I'd suggest you take your half now

I have no advice but just wanted to say I'm so sorry this is happening to you and that your ex h is such a horrrible person- you deserve to be enjoying the time you have left with your daughter and husband not having to worry about finances and your evil ex. Xxx

I think you need to go to the press about what the home insurer is doing about this.

We had a policy that we take out along side our repayment mortgage
Say it started at 100k @ 20 yrs
95k @ 19 years
90k @ 18 yrs

If one of the people of policy died at say
65k @ 12yrs

that would be the amount left 65k to pay mortgage off
Id of thought insurance company would pay the mortgage company themselves
ie - No monies to be had - no excess money

Has he said why he wants the money OP? Is he likely to secure your DDs future with it somehow?

I would speak to the insurance and mortgage company. The insurance company should have had the mortgage written within the insurance. With these policies historically they were for paying off the remaining mortgage not a lump sum payment. In some cases they actually paid the mortgage company direct.

So it wouldn't be a case of a payment for him to receive. It's my understanding it would clear the mortgage and then your ex husband would have to go through the legal process for funds.

With regards to your children does your ex husband have parental rights?

You could speak to citizens advice for free but if you can in anyway find the funds for legal advice from a family lawyer I would imagine it's the best course.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I hope you are able to find some more information.

I read your other thread too.

I'm sorry you are in the position but you really do need legal advise. Can it be funded by the policy proceeds?

Given your divorce didn't cover financial matters, just because you always paid the mortgage doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't have a claim on your house. Have you completed your will with a solicitor, you need to talk to them again.

Will he need the money for your daughter? Uni etc?

@seascape124 "Historically" is the operative word here. As I said earlier, very few policies are assigned to mortgage lenders nowadays. This one clearly isn't (otherwise the insurance company wouldn't say the proceeds are to be split between OP and the ex). So it's nothing to do with the mortgage lender. The insurance company are doing what the policy says it should do, they don't have any discretion.

This is Legal...

And how can she 'move on' when she is trying to safeguard her daughter's future, which is what she thought she'd already done? Why on earth should it be 'let go'?

He has nothing to do with her.

He wants the money for himself

As you were the petitioner in the divorce you may hopefully have ticked the box that said you were going to request a financial order. It is always advice to tick that. Even if you did not then follow up on that, it is enough to formally commence matrimonial claims, which means you are not statute barred by your marriage.
You really need a lawyer to look at your petition if you're not sure about this. If you did tick it the petition will say something about it near the end. If it does, you can start your financial claims against him now. I realise this isn't what you want to do at this difficult time.
Yes it will alert him to your assets now but a judge would look at the whole picture including that he is adequately housed. You can only get your clean break if you both agree or the court orders it. It may not cover the pay out so you may need specific orders on it or for the judge to order he pays you a lump sum equivalent to it so he doesn't benefit in the circumstances.
The courts have discretion and look at all facts.
You also need to think about DD and her legal guardianship as your ex might well be the only one with parental responsibility for her (if she's under 16).
Really you do need proper legal advice, not Mumsnet. It could save you more than it costs.

To add. No one on here can tell you if you'll be better or worse off by opening up matrimonial claims. You need advice.

The insurer is paying out to the people named. I’m not sure that doing exactly what they should is all that press worthy…