Hi All, I hope that everyone is doing ok in these very difficult circumstances.
I am going through a divorce,
Decree Nisi granted last month. Now due to corona virus there is a strong risk that either my wife or myself could lose our jobs.
Therefore I have 2 important questions concerning a financial settlement that I would like to ask.
1, Will a financial settlement be affected if I or my Wife lose our jobs, which is a very real prospect? In which case our earning potentials could become zero or much lower than they currently are?
2, My wife has moved out and is refusing to pay the mortgage or bills, which we usually split 50/50. The Mortgage is £1200 per month. If I keep my job I could try and pay the mortgage solely on my own although it would be very tough financially. However if a financial settlement goes to court would a judgement about ‘needs’ be made against me? As I will have proven that I can pay a large mortgage, even though it will have crippled me financially. If that is the case I will just underpay the mortgage for a while to keep the wolf from the door.
Heres the background
10 yr marriage no kids, co-habited in my house 10 months before marriage but wife did not contribute towards house until 3 months before marriage, both working. Me 51 her 47, I earn £42k she £33k. Wife has refused to discuss any financial settlement & cancelled
mediation.
Finances
Pensions
Me- Pot started 1988 worth £650k/ pot accrued during marriage £165k
Her- Pot started 1998 worth £170k/ pot accrued during marriage £110k
So if pension ring fenced I think I will owe her £27,500
FMH equity £420k (4 bed detached house)
Minus a ‘Deed of Trust’ in place to ring fence £210k equity for me. The house was purchased by me with a large deposit before meeting my Wife.
FMH equity after DOT £210k
Buy To Let Flat equity £70K
A two bedroom flat in our area starts at £240k
I thought a fair deal would be for me to keep my DOT money £210k & to split the remaining property equity 50/50 so £140k each.
Plus I give her a cash amount for the ring fenced pension, £27,500, or less as its ‘liquid cash’.
With the Deed of Trust I would have £210k + £140k=£350k
My wife would have £140k + £27,500k from pension ring fencing =£167,500k
I know some on this forum may say it seems heavily weighted in my favour. But it simply reflects assets I accrued many years before meeting my wife and there are no children involved. When we met My wife had no assets and moved into my house.
It does split everything accrued since we co-habited and then married 50/50.
For 6 months my Wife has refused to engage at all in reaching a financial settlement and has cancelled mediation after the initial session. I am sure she will not want to ring fence pensions or honour the Deed of Trust and is after a 50/50 split of everything.
She has been trying to obtain extra funds since January. She has just moved out of the house and is refusing to make any payments towards it except council tax.
I believe she is trying to raise funds in order to go to court because that is the only way that she can try to overturn the ‘Deed of Trust’ which was entered into with full independent legal advice and some years into our marriage.
Now with the prospect of unemployment looming I would really appreciate any advice on how it could affect a financial settlement if it goes to court.
Would it have any bearing on a settlement if I lost my job and my wife kept hers?
Or if the opposite happened, I kept my job but my wife lost hers?
I am worried that if I keep my job and my wife losses her’s, a Judge would simply say her need is now greater so tear up the Deed of Trust & split everything 50/50.
I also worry that the same would be true even if we both lost our jobs as our mortgage affordability’s would be zero or far less.
I am also unsure if it would somehow work against me if I continue to pay the full mortgage alone. As I will have proven that I can afford to pay a large mortgage. (Obviously if I am made redundant then I will have to underpay the mortgage or take a mortgage holiday).
So any advice you all give will be invaluable to me
