Separation/divorce- advice on settlement please?

[pixiepip]

Does anyone know how settlements work?

I have been married nearly 25 years and have 2 kids at uni. We still have a mortgage of £75K. My husband earns 4X what I do, as I have only ever worked part time since our children were born. Although I am a professional, it's unlikely I could get my earning power back, as I haven't worked in the system for 20 years.

He also has a final salary pension, which is worth a lot.

Would the split always be 50/50 with the sale of the house etc etc? Especially as i would be initiating divorce.

anyone?

bump this for you have you put this in the money section? Sorry that i cant help you but i am sure somebody will come a long.

bump

maybe you could post it in the legal section, too?

Sorry, cannot do the maths there but didn't want it to get lost.

There's no guilt principle anymore in the UK so it doesn't matter who initiates the proceedings. The person that files usually has a bit more control over the pace of proceedings.

As your children are not that small anymore I guess the equity in the house will be split 50/50.

Is the divorce a mutual decision and relatively amicable? Maybe he'd leave you with the house or if not, be a silent guarantor when you take on a new mortgage.

I hope someone will be able to give you more conclusive info.

Hi Pixiepip.

You could do 50/50 on the house and his pension, with substantial spousal maintenance, which would taper down and prob. stop eventually, or you could (and this would be my advice, going on the info you've provided), go for more of the house sale proceeds (somewhere between 60 and 75% at a guestimate), plus half pension plus nominal spousal mtce of £1 a year which is really only intended to be a safety net if you can't work in the future.

The reason you shouldn't settle for 50/50 with no maintenance is that your income and mortgage capacity are v. low. If it went to court, the district judge would count your contribution of looking after the home and children as equal to that of your husband, but now they've flown the nest, you are expected to earn as much as reasonably possible, probably after some further education/refresher courses.

So far as the pension is concerned, the pension co will be asked to produce a cash equivalent transfer valuation, and half of that will be taken from your husband's fund as at the time of separation and put into a fund in your own name which you can't access until you retire. Alternatively you could negotiate a smaller share of his pension in exchange for a larger share of the proceeds of sale of the house, but in your circs you're probably better off with the first option.

You need to get a local family law specialist. All good family lawyers are members of Resolution www.resolution.org.uk

Mumblechum is right, do not forfeit your right of maintenance. A steady flow of 'income' is needed for anything from bank credits to mortgages, mobile phone contracts, etc.

Thanks all.