advice needed please!

Hello,
I'm new to all this, so hope i'm doing this right!
my name is Kerry. 18 months ago my Dad left my Mum after 32 years of marriage for a woman the same age as his eldest daughter. He took nothing with him except a few clothes. He has signed their small cruiser boat to mum, which she has sold. He has also signed the house over to mum, although there are some outstanding endownments in joint names still. Dad has continued to pay mum £200 per month to cover the outstanding mortgage and had agreed to do so for it's term (5 more years).
He has now left her a voicemail saying that he is stopping all payments and would like her to divorce him, or he will divorce her. Nice aye?
Basically, as nothing was agreed legally at the beginning, i am looking for some advice on what my mum needs to do next. Can dad claim some of the house while they are still married and if this is the case can mum make a claim against dad for the new house he has bought with his new partner (who has young children).
It's a very confusing time and we dont know where to turn. Please help.

Thank you

hi kerry ..i cant help you out with legal questions.....however if you read the posts on here you will get answers to you questions....32 years is a very long marriage....your mum needs to see a solicitor....it sounds as tho there is some money here (cruisers, other houses etc) im sure you mum will be ok financially....go to a solicitor and keep posting here..its a very supportive site..get your mum involved...good luck

Your mum needs to see a solicitor. On the homepage there is a link where she can get a free 30 min phonecall to a solicitor. Make sure she has all the information ready at her fingertips and a list of the questions she needs answers to.

Good luck

Hi Kerry,
So sorry to hear your story, your Mum is lucky to have such a caring daughter. Both of you are going to need lots of support even though you have each other. Wiki is a great place to ask questions or just throw your emotions onto a post.

Your Mum is going to have to see or speak to a solicitor.
Unic has good advice, give the free number at the top of the page a call, book an appointment. Make sure your Mum has all the details she needs concerning the mortgage and deeds to the property.

She needs to do this as soon as possible.

If your mum is struggling with the mortgage she can apply to the building society for a 6 months mortgage holiday. This will give her a bit of breathing space until matters are sorted out properly.

Good luck to you both, and keep posting.

take care
zara

hi kerry,

to start, if your mother is having problems paying the mortgage and they wont offer a payment holiday she can ask for it to be changed over to interest only, this will save her some money.
on wednesday of this week a new ruling came into force where she can claim after approx 16 weeks for the interest on the mortgage to be paid by housing benefit, dependant upon her income.
as your dad signed over the cruiser and the house i dont think he is interested in any financial gain from them as otherwise he wouldnt have signed them over.
your mum can just apply for the divorce with a Consent Order drawn up stating he was happy to give her the house and cruiser.
to be honest i think he is being more than fair (sorry i know its hard) financially as the only thing he seems to want is a Clean Break where his wages are his with no maintenance to pay so he can live his new life with this other woman.
if he wanted to he could have stopped paying the mortgage and gone to court to seek 50% of the equity in the house so your mum fianancially wise has had a good deal.
emotionally it is a different matter i know but at least with him giving your mum everything she doesnt have over a year of fighting in the courts and all that upset to contend with.
i hope this helps
kind regards
dawn

Thanks for all replies - really useful. i will certiainly get mum to seek solictors advice asap.

this is a wonderful site, which i just stumbled across by accident and i will definately be introducing mum to this site as it seems she may get some emoional support as well as some more practical advice.

Thanks again,

Kerry

look after yourself Kerry, and yr mum!