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Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

DH wants DM rental income

683 replies

MMMMMBacon · 26/06/2025 17:47

Summarised backstory first -

Married for 21 years and together 23/24 years. I am almost 47 Y/o. I am the higher earner of the two of us though we both earn decently - My only gap in work being a year Mat break 15 years ago. No second child mainly cos he is very tight fisted with money , even mine. I have always compromised and led a simple life - no fancy holidays etc , no fancy eating out or splurges with shopping. My only 'extravagance' from his perspective is I wanted our son to go a fee paying school and he does. Both our mortgage and DS school fees as well council tax, utilities, both phones go from my account that he also has a card to. His salary goes to another account that he saves , as he says, for 'our' retirement - he does afford himself little treats from there. He buys the groceries from there for us. He doesnt like eating out.

My mother has willed her house to me and is now almost 70. Last year she had rot and flooding in one part of the house and her situation was pitiable, staying at a friends house as the roof in one part of the house was horrific. She lives comfortably on a pension and some savings in the bank but didnt have enough to rebuild or even renovate parts of the house and it was ancient/crumbling. She thought about selling it to a small developer who would build it up as 2 units and then sell one and give her one unit. which I would get in future was her plan, it was H who said the developer seems very dodgy blah blah blah , finally long story short - I paid the money for the renovation and repairs which was under 50K (with him okaying it at the time) - now he says my mother should pay him 300 GBP every month for the 50K since he refused to free up any liquidity for me to have the 50k ( we have other assets we could have sold, and I had other plans for financing it myself) but he insisted at the time he pay the 50K from his severance pay he got last year (he got a new job immediately) - I told him I will give him the 300 GBP but he insists my mother pay it out of her monthly pension and savings. presumably my money is all his anyway and not he wants more. AIBU ?

OP posts:
MyMilchick · 27/06/2025 12:50

MMMMMBacon · 26/06/2025 17:47

Summarised backstory first -

Married for 21 years and together 23/24 years. I am almost 47 Y/o. I am the higher earner of the two of us though we both earn decently - My only gap in work being a year Mat break 15 years ago. No second child mainly cos he is very tight fisted with money , even mine. I have always compromised and led a simple life - no fancy holidays etc , no fancy eating out or splurges with shopping. My only 'extravagance' from his perspective is I wanted our son to go a fee paying school and he does. Both our mortgage and DS school fees as well council tax, utilities, both phones go from my account that he also has a card to. His salary goes to another account that he saves , as he says, for 'our' retirement - he does afford himself little treats from there. He buys the groceries from there for us. He doesnt like eating out.

My mother has willed her house to me and is now almost 70. Last year she had rot and flooding in one part of the house and her situation was pitiable, staying at a friends house as the roof in one part of the house was horrific. She lives comfortably on a pension and some savings in the bank but didnt have enough to rebuild or even renovate parts of the house and it was ancient/crumbling. She thought about selling it to a small developer who would build it up as 2 units and then sell one and give her one unit. which I would get in future was her plan, it was H who said the developer seems very dodgy blah blah blah , finally long story short - I paid the money for the renovation and repairs which was under 50K (with him okaying it at the time) - now he says my mother should pay him 300 GBP every month for the 50K since he refused to free up any liquidity for me to have the 50k ( we have other assets we could have sold, and I had other plans for financing it myself) but he insisted at the time he pay the 50K from his severance pay he got last year (he got a new job immediately) - I told him I will give him the 300 GBP but he insists my mother pay it out of her monthly pension and savings. presumably my money is all his anyway and not he wants more. AIBU ?

I'm sorry you spent your whole life with this man. Imagine trying to fleece your elderly mother. Don't you pay him any money either wtf??

Outofthemoonlight · 27/06/2025 12:52

OMG @MMMMMBacon - you really are all over the place!

can you focus on 2 things now, as a matter of priority:

sort out your bank accounts so he cannot control you financially

make an appointment for a one time consultation with an experienced family solicitor. Write up a detailed but succinct summary of your joint financial affairs - house, pensions, investments, savings to take to the appointment.

GAJLY · 27/06/2025 12:54

TomatoSandwiches · 26/06/2025 17:59

And what ops mothers is his and eventually what their child has is also his.

All.of the above 👆 💯 percent. You should divorce him.

Hdpr · 27/06/2025 13:05

Divorce him

Vevvie · 27/06/2025 13:07

I’d be moving in with my mum, let him stay there with his money bags.

myplace · 27/06/2025 13:18

MMMMMBacon · 27/06/2025 12:44

Thanks everyone for the kindness and advice, Mumsnet is a lifeline for many women like me .....

@Mirabai , thanks -what is the OTBT thread that you refer to ?, I am usually on Relationships , or divorce threads reading or AIBU ....first came on MN lurking during pregnancy and birth.

To move your thread, report it to MN and ask. OTBT is a place that doesn’t show up in searches/ on trending. Off The Beaten Track.

It gives a bit more privacy.

And you are one of the MN superwomen- you have kept your son safe, under threat to yourself.

Make sure your mum doesn’t send him
money- tell her you might need it as he doesn’t pay his share of the household costs.

Please get advice from the police/women’s aid
about financial abuse and coercion.

You may need help to access that money that he’s hoarding. You may need help to make him pay his way.

AnonymousBleep · 27/06/2025 13:20

OP I don't think living with him as a separated couple is going to work. He'll just see it as no change to the status quo, and will continue to financially abuse you. I understand why you're doing it but tb I think you're being really naive if you think that's going to work.

I can understand now that you've mentioned the South Asian heritage why you can't quite bring yourself to leave him, even though it's glaringly obvious to everyone else that you should. I started to wonder if this thread was real, because he's such a horrible bastard that it seems bizarre you'd even consider staying with him. But leave him you must. You are worrying too much about your son. He is 16 and almost an adult. I have a son the same age, I split with his dad three years ago. He's fine (although tbf my ex-husband is a nice person and not a horrible wanker). It's pretty much time to cut the apron strings anyway. There won't be a big custody battle and your son will be able to choose to spend his time how he likes. Mine still spends most of his with me! Even though he loves his dad. Possibly this is because I can cook and his dad can't but we'll gloss over that...I wish you well whatever you decide. But remember: you deserve happiness too. Maybe you could meet someone else - even if you don't, you'll be a million times happier without that miserly wanker lurking around like a dark storm cloud, dragging you down. Put yourself first for a change. Your husband is not remotely bothered what happens to you, so treat him the same way.

justasking111 · 27/06/2025 13:47

MMMMMBacon · 27/06/2025 10:00

To the poster who asked, yes both H and I have south asian Hindu ancestry from India, the first wave of migrations from my family was two generations ago.

The rest of my family are all settled in the south part of the UK, I came here for Hs job with him two decades ago.

The fact that a poster noted this possibility despite me trying not to be outing, shows me how deep some conditioning runs, even though we don't recognise - I feel like a walking talking cliche in some ways re the obsession with DSs academics and putting things on hold because of that. But I do have lots of friends in the same community whom I know would not put up this shit from their Hs. at all. I shouldnt have an excuse really.

@MMMMMBacon doesn't have an excuse but is peculiarly passive. Her only hope is that her husband pulls the plug because she doesn't have it in her.

Her son may well follow in his father's footsteps because he's seen it work with his mother.

FluentAquaMoose · 27/06/2025 13:50

ColinCaterpillarsNo1Fan · 26/06/2025 17:53

Your dh is a financial abuser and you'll get what you're legally entitled to if you divorce him. Half of all assets, pensions, savings and investments because you can show that you've been supporting him through your salary. In the meanwhile, he's been hoarding wealth and is now trying to financially abuse an elderly pensioner. This is the angle I'll be instructing a divorce solicitor to work with, this man has form for financially abusing vulnerable women.

I agree here. He's financially controlling which comes under Coercive control and abuse.
Just stand up to him and tell him you are not asking your dear mum for any money or kind of repayment.

mythbuster88 · 27/06/2025 13:52

MMMMMBacon · 27/06/2025 08:51

Thank you all who have posted advice.

I am sorry for the drip feed now but I was very upset yesterday about the whole insisting my DM pay him rent/interest for the renovation, when he was the one who insisted I don't sell an asset to pay for it, but instead that we use his money - his whole theory is 'spend one salary, save one salary' and the savings in theory is both ours. I do understand its his redundancy pay money, the way he speaks about it now, and it is not a small amount but I did offer to 'pay' him the 300 he wanted from my mother every month.

Yes, I am strangely very protective of my DS, I do baby him a lot. As a teen it does annoy him and sometimes he finds it hilarious. Yes you are all right, that this 50/50 is rather moot, as an almost 16 yo, most of the time hes talking to his friends on the phone, or meeting up with them. I do worry a lot about him getting back on time,not staying out after dark. Yes he had mentioned last summer liking a girl his age in the local community and that she liked him back too.

The drip feed is in 2013 when I was in my early thirties, I went through a year of wanting to leave the marriage - because I was unhappy. And I felt an attraction to a colleague that I didnt act on , just stayed friends. But I explained how I felt almost immediately as soon as I knew I wanted out - to H, this magnificiently backfired - for a while he tried for the first time to be actually everything I had dreamed of - offering great holidays, not nagging about expenses, doing a lot around the house - but then he got angry and told me (he also called my DM , in laws etc) and said if I still wanted to leave him despite him making an effort to change, he would fight really dirty with kick ass lawyers (that he was willing to spend?) to make sure I would get my 3 year old every EOW only or even less.

He then took my son away for 10 days- turns out he went to his mum's and then he did send me short messages and pictures of my son showing my son having fun with his cousins having fun. But he also made it clear that would be my life not seeing my son most of the week, not being able to stop my son from climbing the monkey bars too high, not being there 24/7 to protect my son from scapes and falls (and what if that grand uncle of my Hs who H has spoken out about, was still hanging around his mum's ??? It didnt bear thinking about !!!!). H would never have kept a constant protective eye the way I did back then.

I completely backtracked and made nice and never spoke of leaving again. The accounts were joint accounts till 2016 but hes always been mean with the money that he insists is just being prudent and sensible.

Yes I know .....Im not one of the braving amazing women on here ......I am trying though

Your H is truly sick. Did he threaten to put your young DS at risk of sexual violence to control you, or was that simply your fear if left at your in-laws unprotected? Either way, you need to take legal steps to get that man out of your life TODAY! Make that your life’s focus from hereon in. You can do it. He’s trying to intimidate you so you once again backtrack. He’s a weak man who know that if you were to recognise your true worth he would be left high and dry. Time to leave him in just that state.

justasking111 · 27/06/2025 13:56

mythbuster88 · 27/06/2025 13:52

Your H is truly sick. Did he threaten to put your young DS at risk of sexual violence to control you, or was that simply your fear if left at your in-laws unprotected? Either way, you need to take legal steps to get that man out of your life TODAY! Make that your life’s focus from hereon in. You can do it. He’s trying to intimidate you so you once again backtrack. He’s a weak man who know that if you were to recognise your true worth he would be left high and dry. Time to leave him in just that state.

Edited

@MMMMMBacon has stated that she will stay put until her son leaves for university.. many women do this.

ReadingSoManyThreads · 27/06/2025 13:57

MMMMMBacon · 27/06/2025 09:42

thank you yes, will go into the bank on Saturday morning (the non online old fashioned way) to ask about option of getting H name off my account , or opening a new one for my salary to go into.

Thanks

Speak to them and tell them he's been financially controlling you for years. Why is his name on your account if it's not a joint account?

You should open a new bank account with a different bank, get your salary paid into it. Then you can safely speak with a solicitor and forensic accountant without him knowing.

If you are continuing to live separately in the house, are you going to keep paying for all of the mortgage and bills? This really needs to stop, it's fine for him having his spend one salary, save one salary mantra when it's yours being spent and his being saved all in HIS NAME. I'd also (speak with a solicitor first), be telling him to transfer your half of your 'joint' savings into your account, then once you have it tell him you're now splitting all bills and splitting all housework. It's unacceptable for him to be financially controlling you like this and to be making you do all the housework because he earns a few quid more. He's treated you like a skivvy for years. Disgusting man.

I really feel for you, he's done a number on you. He's utterly vile.

ETA as another poster suggested, you should also go to the police to report him for coercive control and financial abuse, tell them everything.

Chicheguevara · 27/06/2025 14:02

MMMMMBacon · 27/06/2025 09:42

thank you yes, will go into the bank on Saturday morning (the non online old fashioned way) to ask about option of getting H name off my account , or opening a new one for my salary to go into.

Thanks

You should be able to freeze his card with your online banking or telephone banking. I am just thinking that he might try to clear you out in the meantime and I would hate that to happen to you.

Muffinmam · 27/06/2025 14:02

MMMMMBacon · 26/06/2025 20:30

I have read books like Lundy's why does he do that ...and tried to figure out how to change him ...many times

You must not have read Lundy’s book -“Why Does He Do that?” because the whole point of the book was that you can’t change an abusive man.

Read the book again and see a lawyer and file for divorce.

MMMMMBacon · 27/06/2025 14:08

mythbuster88 · 27/06/2025 13:52

Your H is truly sick. Did he threaten to put your young DS at risk of sexual violence to control you, or was that simply your fear if left at your in-laws unprotected? Either way, you need to take legal steps to get that man out of your life TODAY! Make that your life’s focus from hereon in. You can do it. He’s trying to intimidate you so you once again backtrack. He’s a weak man who know that if you were to recognise your true worth he would be left high and dry. Time to leave him in just that state.

Edited

@mythbuster88 , I would have called the police if there was a known risk for my son at my in laws place ten years ago at the time - my concern was about an uncle that H mentioned an incident of abuse against him in the 70s - My in laws were and remain oblivious because he never told them at the time or later - MIL passed away in 2019 after a ten year battle with cancer - I ended up going at the end of those 9 days away from my son, to my in laws place and made nice with H, ate humble pie for wanting to leave the marriage then, to get DS back home. I did ask my MIL if that uncle still came by like he used to when H was a kid and she said no he had a stroke and is almost fully in care. It was an isolated single incident that happened to H in the mid 70s not my son - it wasnt my responsibility to protect H as I wasnt even born then. I am extremely protective of my son, to the point where I would not stand more than 2 feet away in the play park until he was 11+ and started telling me this is embarrassing with 7/8 year olds allowed to run about......

OP posts:
mythbuster88 · 27/06/2025 14:08

justasking111 · 27/06/2025 13:56

@MMMMMBacon has stated that she will stay put until her son leaves for university.. many women do this.

Oh gosh. I understand, but another 3 years of this abuse is heartbreaking. I fear it will never end.
OP, you can take control of your own life. Don't let him make you think that you don't have choices. And you'll be surprised how strong you are when you have to be.

MMMMMBacon · 27/06/2025 14:10

Oh sorry @mythbuster88 , just read again, no he never threatened to put my son at any risk ....He is also a protective dad just no where at my level of keeping an eye on

OP posts:
MMMMMBacon · 27/06/2025 14:13

Reading back my posts and my responses to all your wise advice , clearly shows me where I am the problem in my own life.......

OP posts:
MMMMMBacon · 27/06/2025 14:15

Muffinmam · 27/06/2025 14:02

You must not have read Lundy’s book -“Why Does He Do that?” because the whole point of the book was that you can’t change an abusive man.

Read the book again and see a lawyer and file for divorce.

Yes the book says very little hope of change, also the lady who runs the you tube channel on Narcissim , forget her name , very popular globally ...Dr.....she also says cant be changed....

OP posts:
WiddlinDiddlin · 27/06/2025 14:18

I would urge you to use this time to do some research - get some cash out to pay a solicitor for advice - find out what the options are, what the steps are to get to those options etc etc.

I would also caution you that whilst yes, you should not badmouth his father to your son, hiding everything - ie, you calling and him ignoring your calls all night - is not productive either.

You can end up with your son thinking you don't care, or you're suddenly inventing problems out of the blue.

So using last night as an example, I wouldn't have said 'your Dad was ignoring my calls to wind me up/upset me', but I would have shown in the call register on your phone and said 'I did try to call, for some reason he wasn't answering' - in a VERY neutral, non-accusatory tone.

He does need to figure out for himself that his Dad is an arsehole, but to do that he needs some of the facts.

ContraryNoodle · 27/06/2025 14:35

So sorry OP to hear about your former husband's tragic accident this weekend. Obviously, you were with me at the time... 😘

menopausalfart · 27/06/2025 14:44

Please do not put yourself through another three years of this abuse. You are worth so much more. I'm in the middle of losing someone close to cancer. She's still so young, and it's heartbreaking. It's made me realise just how short and precious life is. Please put this off any longer. I hope you find the strength to do what's right for you.

MaggieHM · 27/06/2025 14:47

Please get your finances sorted and dont pay for his phone or food any more. Get a lock on the cupboard and also the fridge if you can. Make him have a separate fridge for his food. Do not let him use your account for anything at all. In fact he should be paying half of everything to do with household.

Noshadelamp · 27/06/2025 15:02

I would not know how to see a solicitor and get a forensic accountant without him knowing anyway, any use of my debit card instantly pings on his watch and he can see the merchant name on the transaction. @MMMMMBacon

Can you borrow the money from your DM? You mentioned the possibility of her paying £300 a month so I'm guessing she has funds she could lend you for a solicitor without leaving her short.

AcrossthePond55 · 27/06/2025 15:03

@MMMMMBacon

Deciding to stay but live separately is a valid decision. A hard one, but still valid.

The thing is, if that is your decision you really need to change the financial set up. At some point DS will leave home and then you are going to want to leave. As it stands, chances are you'd walk away with very little when you walk out the door. Yes, assets will be wrangled over in court and you may very well walk away with your share of them, but how long will that take? And you will have had zero ability to save for your own retirement in the interim.

But in the meantime, living separately, under the present arrangement you are giving him plenty of time to start moving his money around to hide it or give it to family members 'as gifts' with the secret agreement that they are just holding it for him. You'll have a hard time 'reclaiming' money he's 'given away' in the next few years before you separate.

Since moving into the guest room is something he can't ignore the significance of, I'd suggest you tell him that from now on he must pay half the household costs including food and half DS's costs and that he will no longer have access to your money. It will be up to you to figure how you want to work this; either he gives you his 'share' or vice versa if you trust him to actually pay the bills, or open a new joint account and each deposit your share and the bills get paid out of that. I'd suggest either he gives you his share or the joint account. If you can, you want to keep control to see the bills actually get paid.

You can suggest dividing up 'our retirement account' but I wouldn't hold my breath and it may be better to just get some kind of proof of the current balance, hopefully before you lower the boom of completely separate finances.

You also need to give some consideration to division of household labour. If he's now in a separate room then he needs to be responsible for its cleaning and upkeep. And at the very least he should do his own laundry. As far as dividing up the rest, you need to decide what it's worth to you in terms of hassling him to do his share vs just biting the bullet and continue to clean the 'common areas'.

As far as DS, he's of an age to know what he wants and how to 'take care' of himself when he's out and about. If you have 'babied' him, now is the time to start giving him (and you) a little space, responsibility, and a bit of independence. It will stand him in good stead in the future. My sons are in their 30s and the independence we gave them and the trust we put in them when they were your son's age paid off. They're responsible and caring adults with good careers and sound financial 'sense'. DS1 travels a lot for work and he still lets us know his travel plans, mostly because I'm a worry-wart.

I disagree with putting any kind of AirTag in his bag unless he agrees to it. Much better to have a quiet chat with him about the importance of him being contactable and that letting someone know if one is going to be late is a common courtesy for one 'adult' to give to another adult. FWIW the basic rule we had for our sons was that they tell us where they were going and when they expected to be home. They had mobiles but this was before 'smart phones', so we asked that they let us know if they went somewhere else or if they expected to be late. Again, we phrased this as safety and that it was a courtesy from one 'adult' to another.

It's a lot to think about. But also this: even if you decide to stay in the same house, it will not hurt you to see a solicitor to discuss what protections or vulnerabilities you may have as a 'separated/living together non-couple'. And what a divorce may mean to you should you choose to leave.

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