legal HELPPPP please
I have recently split from my partner of 9 years, we had to leave with out telling him as his control over me and my children was becoming overpowering. We now live in a 2 bed flat which is fabulous but comes at a price and I am now working 5 jobs to pay for everything.
I moved in with my partner 5 years ago I sold my little bungalow I had lived in with my 2 children for 7 years after divorcing my husband. The equity from my property I invested into extending his 3 bedroom house to a 5/6 bedroom house so all our children would have their own bedrooms. This cost me £70,000 and after all the work was finished we had a declaration of trust drawn up by his solicitor which is all in his favor as it only gives me interest at the bank rate, at the time properties were falling in price,( we live in the SE of England and house prices never really fall in price) but I panicked and agreed to the terms at the time. His property was worth £280,000 when I moved and it was just recently valued at £525,000. I am unsure of what my next moves shall be as he is not showing me any intention of returning my money from the property.
The declaration states I should write to him giving him 6 months notice to return my investment or sell the property. We had discussed selling the property a year before we left as the situation at home was becoming unbearable for all of us especially the children.We were arguing a lot and he was beginning to throw and smash things in front of us all and the kids, my daughter was often scarred and my son was becoming increasingly worried and over protective of me. He didn't help around the house and I was running the whole ship on my own, we both worked full time but I was generally left with all the house duties.
When we did speak about moving on and selling the house he would say "give him a few months" and he would get someone in to finish it or would help me to get it finished, the house was never completed as we ran out of money. It is generally cosmetic and the house will sell in a flash as the area is highly sort after but he insisted that it had to be finished before we sold as his pride would be at stake. Knowing his personality I knew this would never happen so instead of waiting we left. I am not his mortgage, but I am on the deeds as I purchased the freehold with the £70,000 as it was a lease hold property before I moved in.
My story is long and I have left quite a lot out but the main points are there, I am on a very low wage but I believe legal aid is almost impossible to come by, a point in the right direction would be great if anyone has been in my situation, I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you for taking the time to read this I am truly grateful.