Lone parent mortgage rights

[ipanemagirl]

I'm posting for a friend who doesn't have access to a computer.
She has three young children and a house with a large mortgage. Her dh had a breakdown a few years ago and now lives in Scotland near parents, in and out of hospital, on and off medication, and is barely functioning.
She now has to pay for everything but the mortgage is joint (He hasn't contributed a penny for over three years) She wants to be able to negotiate a better rate but he won't agree to anything except her giving him half the worth of the house in cash! The last thing she wants to do is move. The house is not grand but it is near the children's school and is at least giving them some stabiliy and continuity.
Surely she should be able to free herself from him as he is non compis mentis particuarly as she is now bearing responsibility for the whole family, childcare mortgage and all. She has a solicitor who appears to have charged loads of money and got her no further forward.
Sorry if it's long but does her dh's (now divorced) lack of competence not free her at all from his claims?
Of course I think she needs a new solicitor but she feels she's spent so much on this one who has not achieved anything for her.

She needs to change her solicitor, if she and her ex are divorced and she wants to keep the house she either has to buy him out, or get some kind of agreement that she stays in the house whilst the kids grow up by she has to provide him with part of the equity to rehome himself, she cant just free herself of him as the house is joint and he is entitled to a share of it.

have said this elsewhere but will try and help.

first she needs to get a better solicitor. my first one said 'dont do anything, she might come back'. sacked him altho he wasnt far off. second one said 'why not just give her the kids - is easier that way'... erm, sacked. a long story. third one - a woman - said '95% chance you'll win it, so we'll give it a go'. kept her.

so. she has the right to remain in the family home until youngest is 18. as far as him contributing its down to maintenance, CSA, whatever. the decree absolute - if she has one - should have included settlement on the house. a solicitor will persue this, removing his right to claim against it even tho he can still remain named on the mortgage account. seems some building societies are more willing to take names off than others - mine wont, but ex has no claim. she can still be chased tho if i get in bother paying. is really down to a settlement - whether a judge thinks he deserves anything after this long. will depend on the history of it all.

she needs a better solicitor. many specialize in this stuff, some just do the boring stuff and have no go in them, no different to any other job.

i'm a gardener - but a good one i'm told

thanks for this, I'm grateful for the advice for her.

He has not contributed a penny towards his kids or their home or upkeep for over 3 years, she is working like a madwoman to pay for mortgage, childcare and everything. I just don't see how a person who is non compis mentis should have the right to stop her controlling the finances that will allow her to keep a roof over her kids' heads and feed them!

You keep saying "non compis mentis"/lack of competence - who has said this - is it a formal psychiatric diagnosis - has he been sectioned...if not then he is compis mentis no matter what you may think of him and as such the above advice is sound - being a plonker (and there are many about does not make you mentally incompetent)...and IME even if he has he still has rights over a joint mortgage ...she is stuck and needs a solicitor!

He has been sectioned so is seriously ill. He's been violent, the police have been involved etc. But off and on he's in the care of the community whatever that actually means!

What seems sensible is what singdadof3 says. Surely as she is paying the mortgage and bringing up the family she needs to have enough control to adjust the finances.

But clearly a decent solicitor should enlighten her. I'm hoping she'll find the funds to get good advice. Unfortunately I think she is near breaking point financially and emotionally. She also has absolutely no time at all to do any of this.

I feel compassionate for him but he is too unwell to contribute and the state is looking after him She is getting a few tax credits but no help at all from anyone, just huge tax bills and puntive mortgage repayments. Of course that's life - I'm just curious to know about the suspension of his rights owing to his illness.

I dont this its legal for people to be discriminated because of mental health, surely if he is ill then he needs money to pay for his care and should be entitled to his share of the house, your friend should make sure that she is claiming all the benefits she is entitled too, if she claims IS then she can get help toward the mortgage interest after a certain amount of time, in this instance I dont think its the solicitor thats not doing anything its more that your friend only wants to hear what she wants to hear, could this be true ?

A solicitor will help your friend gain more control over the finances even if it had to be taken to court, but her ex will still be entitled to a share of the property at some stage, there must be some capital in it that can be released to pay him off, although I doubt he will get half more like 25%