Andy,
I think you know, without my telling you, that letting your wife have the proceeds of sale of the house was not a particularly sensible thing to do, but in a relationship breakdown situation, people are under stress, and do things they later regret. So is there anything you can do to retrieve something from the situation.
The first point is that if you sold the house, the probability is that your wife would have got something, perhaps half, perhaps some other figure, so to some extent what you gave away, you would have lost anyway.
Secondly, there's the question as to how much equity she actually received. If the sum involved was not great then
perhaps it is may not be as disastrous as it might at first seem.
So then, you are still in the holy estate of matrimony, and as far as I can see, there does not seem any obvious reason why you should remain in wedded bliss ( not ).
If you divorce now, then, the fact that your wife has a house and has a new boyfriend means that you are not in the situation of many divorced men, namely two spouses competing for the right to keep the house and often there's only one winner. The fact that your wife got the whole equity must be a factor in any negotiations or
proceedings for ancillary relief.
Are there any assets of your own, like savings or a pension ? The fact that she has had the house means it is much more likely you would be allowed to keep these.
Then there is the issue of spousal maintenance. Yes, it's a possibility, but again at the moment you seem to be comparatively well placed. Your wife has a house and she has a boyfriend, and therefore you may be able to use these to get any claims she may make against you for maintenance dismissed.
I don't like telling people what to do with their lives, I have no right to do that. What you must do is to make the best of the situation. Try and find a solicitor who will give you 30 minutes free advice. At the moment you may well get a
Clean Break, keep whatever assets you have, and get on with your life without the worry that your wife might come back for more. If you decide you want a divorce this may be as good as time as any to do it ; if the cohabitation breaks down later, your position would be weakened.
Mike
