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Following on from the above, my wife has moved out into rented accommodation. She is not claiming housing benefit because this would result in the Benefit office expecting her to realise any assets she has; namely the matrimonial home.Therefore she is living off her salary, Tax credits, Child support and hand outs from me.The Children stay with me every Friday and Saturday (occasional exceptions) and I’ll also book holidays in the Term breaks in order to take then on holiday or just to spend some time with me.I started the process of having the matrimonial home transferred from joint to my sole name. However the Mortgage company have come back to me, asking if the reason is a separation etc and if so want me to forward a ‘Separation agreement’ or ‘Court order’. The former we have drawn up and signed, from ‘on-line’ advice but the advice stated that this should be notarized. Why is this, when I am led to believe that a separation agreement is not legally binding, i.e. is it worth paying for it to be notarized and would the mortgage company accept it if it was not. Finally does the notary sense check the document?
Optional Information: Province/Country relating to question : Surrey, UK Already Tried: Previous dialogue.
HiThere is no need for it to be notarised - it does not make it any more enforceable.It should however be witnessed and the mortgage company may want evidence that a solicitor has advised on the matterClaire
Experience: 25 years experience of all aspects of family law
The purpose of transferring title into my name is XXXXX XXXXX my house from any possible future claims, as I cannot dictate what my wife might do in the future(she is already complaining about bills etc being more expensive than she estimated) so need to be able to put my mind at rest in order to get on with my life. This makes me wonder if there is any point in having the title deeds changed to my sole name, because a Solicitor(free advice / really a sales pitch) let it slip that a wife will always be able to claim against the home until divorced. ?
So it looks as though, the only way I will be able to secure my future and assets is by getting a Divorce (grounds of Adultery), do you agree? And should this be pursued sooner rather than later?
HiYou are correct - the only way to protect your assets is for there to be a final financial order within divorce proceedings - so the sooner you start this the sooner you will know if the court will make the order - which they may not if they do not consider it fair to your exClaire
Dear Claire,
So are can you confirm that by 1/ putting the deeds in my name gives me the sole power to selland; 2/ will it show my wifes intention not to have any further interest, sufficient to influence a court decision ? The reason I ask is because it will cost me £600 to transfer title of the deeds, so if it is not conclusive, I see no reason to waste the money.
Kind regards
HiIt will certainly give you the power to sell the property - unless your wife subsequently places a restriction on the register to protect her interest in it.It will have no effect on the Courts decision at all I am afraidClaire
Moving on therefore, what decision has the court to make if we have already mutually agreed, what I will pay her for her interest (i.e. I will pay her 50% of the equity reduction (£13,000) made since the purchase).
HiThe court will look at the Consent Order and decide if the agreement was on the face of it fair or not.If she has received 50% of the equity it is likely that the court will be content.Claire
Claire,
What is a Consent Order?
You have misread my question. We have decided that she will accept 50% of the equity reduction (£13,000) made since the purchase, not 50% of the equity. The equity is circa £60,000. For various reasons she does not deserve any more,e.g. I sold all my assets to pay the deposit, the children would lose the house they were born in, their inheritance would be wasted, the mortgage rate is 0.18%/base so the same mortgage at todays rates would deprive me of c.£5k pa and adversely affect the childrens standard of living etc, etc...indeed, because my wife has betrayed me and walked out, she did not want anything from the house but I offered this sum.
My question is about getting a Divorce and a court order that agrees with what we want, so my Mortgage company change the deeds to my name and we can get on with our lives secure in knowing what assets we respectively own.
Hence, if we go to Court and tell the judge what we have decided will this be agreed without question.
Regards
HiA Consent Order is a Financial Order made by Consent between the parties - one you both agree to which is also approved by the court.Given the agreement that you have outlined I am afraid that it is unlikely that a Court would seal this order.This does not mean that you and she cannot make this agreement and stick to it - just that you will not have the security of knowing that she cannot change her mind in the futureClaire
So are you saying that they would grant the divorce but not agree to have the house transferred into my name, i.e. she would remain a home owner at my house?
Thanks
HiYes that could indeed happenClaire
Is this because it was the matrimonial home. Someone suggested I sell the house (wife is happy to sign the sale agreement) and buy another in my own name. Would this make any difference?
I am struggling to understand why the Court has the right to interfere with the decision of two consenting adults, especially as there is was no interference or advise when getting married or paying away my life savings for a home.
Hi No this would make no difference. The family Court cannot prevent you and your ex from putting this agreement into effect - what they can do is refuse to endorse it in a way that means she has no right to make a claim in the future. So the house can be transferred as you intend. the only difference is that if your ex changes her mind she can make a claim in the future provided she does not remarry Claireclaire41116.2772783912
So a matter of trust.
So lets say that a year after the house in put in my name, she hasn't progressed with any ambitions of earning more money or with paying her way in life; so decides to claim Housing benefit(the Housing Benefits form only asks if you have had an interest in a property within the last 12 months). Should the Housing benefits office then discover that there is an untapped asset(i.e. the equity in the house) could they enforce a court case? Logic would say they could (presumably if there was a a back office administrator who uncovered this informtion and decided to persue it).
If you agree that this could happen, then I could be exposing myself to an uncertain future, unless she remarries.
Therefore lets say we got a Divorce, on the mutually agree basis that I keep the house although the court does not give its endorsement, but I subsequently sell it and purchase another property. Would this break the chain/link?
Sorry to be a pain , just trying to work out the options.
Kind regards.
HiThe Housing Benefits cannot force anything at any time - they can simply give the benefit or withhold it full stop Selling the house and purchasing another one will not defeat a potential claim.Claire
So if I put the house in my name and subsequently get a Divorce, assuming the Court refuse to endorse our agreement would this result in them placing a note on the Mortgage register of the property, thereby returning her interest or would it simply be a note on the Court order.
HiNothing would happen - it would not be noted anywhere at all.It will just be a gamble as to whether or not your ex decides to make a claim against you in the futureClaire