Divorce help please

[AndreaS123]

Apologies in advance for the long message but I want to make sure I give all the information. I hope someone can then help me as I don’t know what to do.

Last January my husband left me after 22 years of marriage. He said it was because he couldn’t live with me anymore but he started seeing someone else straight away so in my opinion he was having an affair.

Anyway, he has now filed for divorce and has made me an offer. Here are our current finances and dependencies

We own two houses that are both heavily mortgaged but there is about £30K of equity in them and they are rented out making a total profit of about £200/month
We have about £14K of personal debt
He has a work pension that he earned while married to me that brings in £800/month
I live in a rented property which costs £1000/month. I live there with our 20 year old twin sons. The house is full of our own furniture/appliances etc.
He earns c£50k/year and I earn c15k/year.

Over the past 12 months he has paid our rent in full, given me his pension in full and allowed me to receive all of the rental income while paying the mortgages on my behalf (£550). However, he has now said to me that this cannot be indefinite and instead wants to offer me the following divorce settlement.

Give me both houses (I keep the rental but am responsible for the mortgages)
Allow me to keep all the house contents bar a few personal possessions
He will take care of the 14K of debt in full
He will give me a fixed amount of £400/month to account for 50% of his pension

I hope I am not sounding ungrateful but he earns nearly 4x my income and even with the income that offer gives me there is no way I can afford to stay in the house that I am in as I am only earning 15K a year. I have asked him for all the pension as I cannot live on the amount I have. I have also offered to sell him the properties so that I can have a lump sum to set up in my own home but would need £50-60k from him. He has said that is too much.

It’s difficult when I only has his point of view and can’t afford a solicitor so can someone tell me if I am being conned here please?

Thanks for your help! Xxx

I think you should probably get advice from a solicitor. What is the situation with your sons, are they still dependent on you / at Uni ? Do they contribute to the rent? I don't think your ex is obliged to support you but you may be entitled to some of the pension ( although I doubt all of it). Is there any reason you can't live in one of the houses you rent, surely then you would be paying less in mortgage than your current rent.I think your situation is complex and you need professional advice, would he be willing to pay for that to make sure everything is fair?

One is working and the other is looking for work. They don't contribute to the rent. I can ask him about solicitor. I know he is paying for the divorce proceedings that's all

Just to add, I think it would be risky to own two houses with little equity in them. If you have a period without a tenant then you will be liable to pay the mortgage on a low income and could risk defaulting.
Would it not be simpler to sell the houses and split the equity? If you are on a low income and pay a high rent you may get some housing benefit towards the rent but any lump sum or savings would affect that and must be declared and also the £400 he is willing to give you might affect any help you get.

Also if you need to re-mortgage on the rental houses at any point you would be unlikely to be able to do so on your income alone, presumable they were purchased on the basis of your joint income and are in joint names? I think you would need to let the mortgage company know of the situation. You could perhaps go to Citizens advice bureau for advice?

He has said I can have all the equity in the property so if they were sold that would all be mine. He offered to buy them from me but I said I wanted 50-60k and he said no.

I think the mortgages are linked to the rent not our income but I'm not 100%

Does he have savings? If he is already paying the debts off perhaps he just doesn't have another £30K to give you in a lump sum? It doesn't sound like he is great with money if you have that much debt on a joint income of £65K although I appreciate some areas of the country are expensive. Also if he sells both the homes that will incur estate agents and solicitor's fees x2 which could amount to another ? £5k perhaps.

he is paying for the divorce proceedings

AndreaS123

You're both paying for the divorce, out of marital assets

That's how your solicitor's fees will be paid

You can afford a lawyer

You need a lawyer

Hire one

Thanks LL. What do you think I might be entitled to? I really want to be able to just make a new life for myself

I'll ask about the pension. It's a military one so I don't know if I get it after he dies or not.

He has offered to give me 30k and take the properties. Would that be a better idea do you think? I was hoping for more than that though :(

AndreaS123

I've taken advice

Your husband is offering more than the legal requirement

If you go to law, you could end up with less

I'm sorry if I misled you

May I ask why you live in rented accommodation?

You have maritial assets ( equity) of £30k and debts of £14k ( assuming they are joint debts), which leaves £16k, half of which would be £8k. So an offer of £30k seems good alongside half the pension.

I do understand though that it may not seem fair, especially as he may have had the chance to progress his career during your marriage whilst you may have been doing the bulk of the childrearing hence why you are on a lower income. This is why I still think it would be worth seeking legal advice to protect your interests.

Thanks everyone

I live in rented accommodation as the houses are in another part of the country to where I work.

I did consider moving away and into one of the properties but then the mortgage would change and I don't think I'd be eligible for one.

The ex has paid my rent for the last year and the mortgages on the properties which means I've been able to live ok but now that he says that is changing I'm worried if I will have enough.

he cant give you both houses if they are BTL unless the mortgage companies agree. Who is on the deeds and mortgage? had you spoken to them?

You need to work out what the assets are from the marriage and then what the split will be. It may be that both houses will have to be sold.

With £14k of debt and maybe £30K of equity there will be very little for anyone at the end of this. On paper it would be only £16k before costs split between you both and so if he is offering £30k that seems generous. The offer of half of his pension is also above what you might be entitled to.

It is too risky for the OP to take over 2 rental properties thst between them only have £30k in equity and only generate £200 a month profit. From the sounds of it the OP is not very au fait with dealing with finances and she may find it very stressful having to deal with all the responsibilities of being a landlord includibg dealing with piblic liability insurance, gas checks, voids etc. Her own very low income means it is unlikely that she'd be able to cope with the expense of voids or evictions. If she has given up work for any prolonged periods a court may award a better than 50% share of assets as well as a maintenance order. Would it be possible for you to live in either of the properties currently rented out?

That may be a cheaper option for you. Also how old are you as that may restrict what mortgage you could get.

the pension

AndreaS123

After the divorce, you will no longer be entitled to any of the benefits of the pension

Forget periodic payments - it's too risky

A military pension is an annuity and therefore cannot be cashed in

Have the current equivalent cash value of the pension calculated by a financial services advisor

Agree a lump sum payment based on that calculation

Oh thanks again everyone.

One of you mentioned a maintenance order. Would I be entitled to that? I wasn't aware of this

Interests rates are likely to go up so the rentals could end up costing you money!

You definitely need proper legal advice. Your sons are in their 20s they aren't going to be your Ex financial responsibility as part of the divorce, they will have to start paying their way.

Can you move to a cheaper rental in time?

How much would a decent 2 bed cost to buy?

You definitely need to claim on his pension...

Sorry but I'm getting confused now. One of you mentioned a maintenance order and another to 'claim on his pension'. What do either of those mean please?

Does what he has offered me stop me claiming that?

Answering done messages. I'm in my mid 40s and a 2 bed in my area is about £120000

I don't often comment on these types of threads but you seem so completely and utterly clueless.

I would suggest to go full time work if you are not already.

Sell the houses and release the money. I can't see you being allowed to take on the mortgages. Plus the tax rules on BTL are changing and your tax bill will start going up every year and you will need to find that tax from the rental income.

Def pension share. Do it officially thoigh. Don't just accept £400 a month as if he dies then that will just stop.

Assuming he did 22 years in the military. What happened to his lump sum he got when he left? Is that what is in the houses?

His offer seems very generous. But get the pension sharing agreement oofficial in that you get the money direct from the pension provider not from him. Of course he gets his now and I don't know whether you would have to wait until you retire.

Why would he give you £50-£60K for the properties when there is only £30K equity?

You really REALLY need to see a solicitor.

As others have said, taking on the BTLs may not be a good move for you. Where has that equity figure come from?

Are you aware that when you come to sell, you will owe Capital Gains Tax on the value increase? So if that £30K is all value increase not from your deposit, I'd be saying to my STBXH that I wasn't gaining £30K but £30K less a theoretical CGT amount.

If you just made a face and don't know what I'm on about - another reason to see a solicitor!

If your mortgage is £550 for both properties together, then I would bet a lot of money that they're on Interest Only mortgages. So you're never going to repay them.

You need to look at those properties in fine detail to work out if they are a good investment. How long have you had them? Because in the recent rising market, £30K increase across 2 properties isn't very good. Especially if some of that £30K is from initial deposits!