Wife is Staying in the House

Hi,

I recently separated from my wife and left the house which she is currently still living in. She has informed me that she is going to start divorce proceedings on July 1st. Due to us having a fixed rate mortgage we are not planning on selling the property until February 2018 as we would have to pay a fee of several thousand pounds.

The split is relatively amicable at the moment however I have unfortunately been receiving lots of "advice" from family members which is simply confusing and worrying me.

One of these is that if she stays in the house after the divorce is finalised then she will get additional rights to stay in the property and gain more rights over the proceeds of the sale. I can't see how this would be correct but would be interested in knowing if anyone knows whether this is accurate or not? We have no children and both work full time earning similar incomes (hers is actually more than mine). Any help gratefully received.

Before I could answer this question I need to know

i. Is the property in the sole name of one of the spouses ; or
2. Is it is joint names.

LMM

Hi
The property is in both our names and we have contributed equal share to the mortgage. My intention is to split 50 50 when we sell it next year. Thanks for your help.

The object of a Court would be to make sure both of you have somewhere to live when the divorce takes effect.

It is true that I would normally recommend that both parties stay in the house, unless that is impractical or unrealistic, e.g. if domestic violence is involved.

The reason is that if the husband leaves voluntarily and sets up home, his housing problems are solved and there is is a greater likelihood
that the wife might be allowed to remain there.

But if there are no children, a sale and division of the proceeds is normally to be preferred. For a start, both parties can make their own arrangements and are not tied to the original mortgage on the family home.

Of course everything depends on your circumstances and those of your wife, but my first reaction is that, if there are no children
in the mix, then a sale of the house and division of the proceeds would be preferable. For a start a Court must always consider whether a Clean Break is possible, and the arrangement I have described fits this objective very well.

LMM

That's great thanks for your advice