Help with finance in divorce - multiple houses

Dear folks on wikivorce,

I am looking for ideas if you could please as I didn't think I was ever going to need to divorce and never planned that way. Actually I am in fixed mortgage deals until 2024

To give you more info about my circumstances. we have two kids, 13 and 10 year old. We agree that kids will continue living with wife in our family home. We have three properties between us.
Family home - jointly owned - £400K worth, £300K outstanding mortgage, wife will continue living here with the kids.
BTL house - jointly owned - £335K worth house, £160K outstanding mortgage, buy to let mortgage for rental income, getting around £13K to £14K per annum.
Studio flat owned outright by myself worth £60K - where I live at the moment

Decree Nisi applied for already
I have already started paying around £622 for child maintenance order

My salary £50K
Wife salary £7200 per annum as she does limited hours, I believe she is in receipt of some benefits as well now.

Wife agrees to 50-50 split, I am wondering what my options are in terms of properties. I would not want to sell anything if there is a way. If I have to then I can sell the studio flat. It would be nice to move into the BTL house but the mortgage would be a problem. Also, both houses are in fixed deal until 2024 with big penalties to pay if we were to break the deal. I would like to keep things as clean as possible so that we don't have to rely on each other for anything.

Thanks

Umm. How will the mortgage and running costs on the FMH be paid? Your stbx won't be able to take on the mortgage in her sole name will she? Can she increase her income??

Are there any other assets to consider such as pensions? The value of property equity for divorce settlement purposes takes redemption penalties into account.
With a big disparity in incomes a 50:50 split may not be considered fair. The priority is housing the children at least until they are older and can be independent. This may mean a delay in splitting equity and possibly moving funds around to reduce the mortgage on the FMH or selling everything and buying a modest property apiece.

If you can reach a workable agreement, a court will have to approve it to make it legally binding. If you cannot and apply to court for contested proceedings, a judge will eventually make the decision for you. They are likely to take a pretty broad brush strokes approach and could well order sale of everything.

Hadenoughnow

Thank you for your reply.
She certainly can't raise her income just yet, she is studying and then in a couple of years time she might get a better job hopefully. I have a sizable pension that is going to be split as well. But again, pension is pension, can't do anything with it at this point of time. Probably I have to raise some cash that she can use towards the mortgage on FMH to bring monthly payments down?
I mean we both agree that she will stay with the kids in our FMH so that kids can continue going to their current schools. She is bit silly and got herself a lawyer making things stretch timewise. I mean she agrees 50-50 verbally with me and I asked her to do one of those online divorce package things to see it to the end.
We definitely don't want to sell all the properties. She definitely can't afford the mortgage on herself making this more difficult to work a clean split.
Any other ideas?

Further updates on my case...for some reason the court keeps finding issues in my decree nisi application. So at the moment it is pending with the court from my last correction to it. Fingers crossed...

On the other hand, financial proceedings are going ahead and have a date in mid October. I wanted to check if anyone can comment on below please: Let's say my wife agrees on a Consent Order then how would it work for making property transfers. My wife on her own will not be able to afford the mortgage, ever. Does that mean consent order cannot happen even if she agrees with me? Could I be a guarantor or something while she pays the mortgage for our family home?