he left 26 years ago for other women and solicitors say hes entitled to half house. - any advice

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My nans husband committed adultery 26 years ago. 26 years ago too he left the home and moved in with his women - 'apparently as a lodger' so she could still claim her dead husbands pension. My nan was left with a 8000 mortgage. now in 1982 - 83 that was a lot of money compared to earnings. through out the divorce there were lots of papers saying he had to pay towards mortgage and property maintenence, in his interest to 50% of what the property what is was worth when sold, remarry, etc. the letters following on read he was out of work and unable to pay ( never out of work) he knew the game!!! he never paid a penny to my nan. my nan held down 3 jobs to pay the mortgage and bills on her own has never been in debt and is a hard worker and has spent a lot of money doing her place up. she is now 71 and this week she recieved a letter from his solicitor with a court order dated back in 1984 and asked to sign to say he was entitled to the 50%.
my mum and nan have been to her original solicitors she used back in 1980's and they have said there is nothing that can be done. the case was never finished and left open ( ? if one party or other had insufficent funds at the time to carry on) her solicitor said that his solicitors have made a large error and the court order should have been signed 1984 and she has no choice but to leave 50% of property to him when she dies, sells, every remarried. her solicitor was usless and i personally think they cocked up and missed vital information years ago too , and are covering their own backs. i think a 2nd opinion elsewhere is needed.

I really dont think it is fair that he committed adultery, put my nan through shit at the time, left her with a large mortgage and he has basically sat back and watched his gold pot fill up. the property is worth about 150,000 ( nice 50% for him considering he has not paid a penny) all because of this unsigned court order.
my nan is devistated and as we are a close family we are upset for her. she has worked so hard to get what she has and has always talked of how proud she is and how she wants her family to enjoy it when she is not here.
( thats not our main concern, but what is is that if he gets 50% of the property when sold, if he dies before his women ( who he left my nan for) she will get his share. talk about rubbing my nans nose in it.

we have just been discussing nan selling it for silly money to mum and giving him a poxy share - but i think he would be entitled to a valuation???? and have his say when sold.

does anyone know if my nan has any rights, the solicitor seen seemed to think not. and its not looking good.

i feel so sad for my nan, she has aged so much in a week of all this going on, she should be enjoying what she has but she just keeps crying, it makes my cry, i am 7 months pregnant and we are all gutted as we are such a close family.
all the deeds are in her name but apparently solicitor said it means nothing.

nan keeps saying she will never be rid of him and he always wins and gets what he wants. we keep reminding her that he hasn't got us ( family)

any help, advice will be greatfully appreciated x

I think your nan should consult a different solicitor, get a second opinion. At the very least, she could find out if she could ask a court to look at the specific situation and take the circumstances into consideration

Is this really the case? Did you say that her solicitor say his have made a mistake. To be honest, I didn't really understand your post but it sounds complicated enough to see another solicitor. He may just be trying it on. Whose name is the house in?

You need xenia

The fact that she was asked to sign this form suggests to me as if he isn't entitled to anything as things stand.

her solicitors wont admit to making a mistake, they have said her ex solicitors should have got it sorted and court order signed but they not admitting mistake. house - its all in her name.

defo going to get 2nd opinion.

thanks

Ok, so assuming that the court order was never actually signed off by the judge then at the moment, the property is still in joint names so on the face of it he is entitled to half.

HOWEVER, the thing to do is for your nan to make an application within the old proceedings for an order that the house is transferred over to her eithr for nothing, bearing in mind the fact that she's cleared the mortgage off, or for a nominal amount reflecting his contribution prior to splitting up.

She does need to get a new solicitor on board to go through the papers as of course my advice is based on what you've told me and it may be that there is more, contradictory,info. in the files.

She should also be thinking about suing her old solicitors for negligence if it ends up that she's worse off than she would have been had things been sorted out properly all those years ago.

(btw I'm a specialist divorce lawyer.)

Your nan should find herself another lawyer by going to www.resolution.org.uk. They'll ask her to sign an authority to get the files from the old lot.

In the meantime, I think it's crucial that she severs the joint tenancy if that hasn't already been done, as there's a danger that if she dies he'll automatically inherit her half.