RESIDING IN MARITAL HOME AFTER DIVORCE

[CyclingAddict]

A friend lives with her two children (under 18) in the marital home; her husband lives in rented accommodation and they are in the process of divorcing.

The house is solely in his name - bought a few years ago without my friend knowing (maybe he predicted that they would divorce at some point?) but she was able to arrange for a legal document to be attached to the Deeds which protects her, allowing her to continue to reside there.

The exH is now saying he cannot afford the Mortgage payments and wants to either sell or create a Tenancy Agreement.

Does anyone know the likely outcome? Would she be able to remain in the house until the youngest turns 18, in 14 years time?

Absolutely not a chance no.

She’ll have to buy him out or depending on what other assets are there bargain with not touching pension/savings etc if she wants the house. She’ll have to get a mortgage for it in her own name to buy it if nothing to bargain with.

Thanks ..she has no savings, no money and quite a small income. Won’t be able to buy him out. Think she might have to sell to get her share of the equity - I’m sure she will be entitled to half, or nearly half, even though it is solely in his name…?

What has her solicitor advised? The house is a marital asset but surely she should be paying all the bills if she's the only one living there? She'll need to buy him out or sell depending on what other assets there are. Would she get a mortgage?

I don't understand the bit where you say he bought the house without her knowing?

Do you mean the house she lives in? If so, who did she think owned it?

If she can’t afford to buy him out and there’s nothing to bargain with then yes the house will have to be sold.

She should currently be paying ALL of the bills because she has sole use of the property, if he wanted to he could take her to court for occupational rent and she’d have to pay it all.

The house will be sold and the equity split as it’s a marital asset unless he bought the house with something like an inheritance for example.

There’s not a single chance of her being able to stay for free for 14 years, no court is ever going to do that. She needs to be prepared to maximise her income and figure out how to support herself with her share of equity.

A few years ago he took her to the house and said “Look what I have bought for us!” Only a few weeks later he mentioned, in passing, that he had bought it in his own name. They were living in another house at the time.

Think the Solicitor is saying the legal document attached to the Deeds will help her to stay there…I am guessing, because it is getting messy, she could end up incurring lots of legal fees…?

Legal fees add up, and to be honest this doesn’t have to be messy. It’s simple really, if she can’t afford to buy him out and there’s nothing else to bargain with then the house is sold, really simple. She could spend £20k on legal fees and take it to court where she will be told the same, they’re separating, he does not have to and will not be forced to continue to fund her life in that house. She’ll be expected to maximise her income, which means working full time, and find a way to finance her own life with a settlement from the divorce.

I can't see her being allowed to stay in the house if he can't afford the mortgage and I presume she can't either?

My SIL was allowed to reside in the marital home until the divorce was dealt finalised and within the divorce agreement it stated she would receive all proceeds of the sale to purchase a new property. (So her each relinquished his rights to the property and any proceeds of sale)

Sounds like your friends husband can't afford to do that though.

Not a hope in hell will she be allowed to stay there for another 14 years, unless there are some pretty major things going on - the ex being a STAGGERINGLY high earner, her inability to work, DC with lots of additional needs.

A home rights notice only means that she will be notified if he wants to sell, and that she has an interest in the house. It does NOT mean that she is automatically entitled to half of the equity (again, unless there are way more details than you're giving).

She needs to be able to afford to run the house by herself in any event. If she can't currently pay ALL the bills even when claiming all she can, working ft and including maintenance from her ex, she needs to move and downsize.

No, no chance. Maybe if they were 16 for 2 years, but definitely not for 14 years.

They will need to sell the house and split the equity. He will then be liable for paying child maintenance depending on the custody split.

What a pile on of ill-informed nonsense you've had reply to your OP.

The answer is no on can say on this thread. It depends on what all the assets are worth, and incomes, and all the factors contained in s25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1973/18/section/25

The fact that some posters tell you with confidence that there's no way she can stay in the property tells me they know the square root of nothing, and should stay away from offering ill-informed advice lest someone acts on it.

Agree with @Collaborate

This is yet another thread where people who don't know or understand the law are weighing in with incorrect "advice". On some threads we get people who don't know the law trying to shout down posters who are giving correct advice. I've also seen people elsewhere on Mumsnet claiming to be lawyers when they clearly have so little understanding of the law that I sincerely hope they are lying.

If you ask a legal question on Mumsnet, you have no idea if those answering are qualified to give advice. As this thread demonstrates, you will get people confidently giving incorrect "advice". Treat any responses with caution.

What happened about the house they were living in before the current one?

Was it rented or jointly owned?

I fail to see the relevance of this question.