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Re: Fair Offer - 5 weeks ago

>>It would at least be useful to know what the worst case has been as ordered by a court on this salary. That is easy. It would, for example, be a case where the children are already in fee paying education. Courts are very reluctant to disturb settled arrangements like that (possibly influenced by the fact that many judges have attended fee paying schools). Where that applies the payin

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Extremely worried, not working sick & on benefits, will I be ok? - 5 weeks ago

Let us be clear. You and your husband are getting a divorce. He is paying the bills and the mortgage. He is now paying the balance of his income into an account under his sole control rather than into a joint account. That is a sensible thing to do under the circumstances. If people operate a joint account when they are going into a divorce then what usually happens is that the person putting in

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Financial order - 5 weeks ago

Q: Can either of us apply to the court to deal with a financial order or is it purely the Applicant? A: Either of you can apply. Q: I have no intention of remarrying at the moment. If the Applicant remarries, does this affect them applying to the court? A. Yes, if they remarry before making an application to the court they lose the right to apply thereafter. The same would apply to you i

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Extremely worried, not working sick & on benefits, will I be ok? - 5 weeks ago

I didn't say that the outcome would be a 50/50 split. I said 'the starting point' for any division would be an equal division. It would then be for the person who wants more than 50% to justify it. Sometimes that is possible, sometimes not. For instance, you say you have mental health issues. That might be a justification for departing from equality. But you also say you did wor

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Fair Offer - 5 weeks ago

>>I think the one thing all these forums could benefit from is more real outcomes as examples I think 'real' outcomes can be misleading. That is because every case is different. Spouses are of different ages, marriages are of different lengths, there may or may not be children of various ages and everyone's financial circumstances will be different. That is why it is rarel

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Invasion of Privacy - 5 weeks ago

If you think there is someone else on the line then just say you think there is and put the phone down. Unless you are like Harry and Meghan with money to burn it isn't worth getting involved with the legalities. The best course is to try to stay calm and press ahead with the divorce and settling the financial issues so you can both move on with your lives. Whether you should be paying for e

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Fair Offer - 5 weeks ago

>>I doubt a Mesher Order on the FMH will appeal to her. It often doesn't. All the same, speculating about it is not likely to yield a definitive answer. There is no substitute for talking to her.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Fair Offer - 5 weeks ago

Courts don't have power to change the terms of a mortgage. If there is a Mesher order it will be subject to the existing mortgage. And if your wife gets to stay in the house subject to a Mesher order then you would be expected to pay enough in child and spousal maintenance to enable her to pay the outgoings required to stay in that property. She would undertake to pay the mortgage from her i

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Extremely worried, not working sick & on benefits, will I be ok? - 5 weeks ago

This is a long marriage and there are no dependent children. Therefore the starting point for any division of capital and pensions would be an equal division. And that includes all capital. Nothing is ring fenced and you 'agreed not to touch' is irrelevant. Also, since there are no dependent children this looks like a clean break case, possibly not immediately but in no way can I see t

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Drug addiction - 5 weeks ago

Statements in the family court cannot be disclosed outside that court without the explicit permission of the court and it is contempt of court to disclose such information without permission. Also, it is contempt of court to make statements to any court which are untrue. Therefore no solicitor is going to advise to answer anything other than truthfully.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Fair Offer - 6 weeks ago

>>If she did get a Mesher Order, would I be within my rights to insist the mortgage is an interest only one to keep costs down so I can afford suitable accommodation for myself? << No.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Fair Offer - 6 weeks ago

There is no reason why you shouldn't try to achieve what you are proposing and if your wife agrees that would be that. The problem is that if your wife doesn't agree I don't think such an outcome can be guaranteed for the reasons I have explained. On a good day you might get it from a court but on any normal day I don't think you could count on it.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Final Order before financial order - 6 weeks ago

1. HMCTS does not give legal advice. 2. I have told you what the position is and what any competent solicitor would advise your wife.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Fair Offer - 6 weeks ago

I don't think I want to enter into a debate. I have told you what my reservations would be and those reservations might well be shared by a court.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Final Order before financial order - 6 weeks ago

You misunderstand. Regardless of whether or not you think it is the 'only' loss the fact is that it is quite sufficient for your wife to be able to prevent you from applying for decree absolute until such time as the financial issues between you are formally and finally resolved. Any competent solicitor would advise your wife to make an application to the court to prevent you applying f

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Fair Offer - 6 weeks ago

Well, you have a point in trying to agree terms of settlement between you. If you can do that then not only does it save you both money but it is less stressful. If you can get her to agree to your proposals then fine. My reservations would be these:- 1. There are three dependent children so I am not sure that a three bedroom terraced house would actually meet her needs and those of the chi

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Final Order before financial order - 6 weeks ago

If you were to die before decree absolute then your wife would have an automatic right to a share of your pension benefits by reason of being your spouse. If you obtained decree absolute she would no longer be your wife and therefore have no automatic entitlement to any consideration by your pension trustees in the event of your death. Under these circumstances your wife would suffer real prejudi

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Financial Settlement Reasonable? - 6 weeks ago

According to your calculations it meets her needs but what about according to her calculations? One side's calculations are rarely objective.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Final Order before financial order - 6 weeks ago

If your wife is looking for a pension sharing order she can - and almost certainly should - prevent you from applying for decree absolute until such time as the financial issues arising from the marriage are formally and finally resolved. If you have significant pension provision your wife would suffer prejudice if you were to apply for decree absolute before financial issues are formally resolve

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: When am I free to spend my own money and have my life back? - 7 weeks ago

You are free from this drama when the financial issues arising from your marriage have been formally and finally settled by way of a court order. That court order can be obtained by consent if you are both agreed or it is decided by a court in the event that you cannot reach agreement. Until settled in this way you each have potential claims upon the assets of the other.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Financial Settlement Reasonable? - 7 weeks ago

It is your wife's realistic earning capacity that matters, not her actual earnings. Having said that, you have an eight year old child. How practical it is for her to work full time will probably be a matter of debate between you.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Financial Settlement Reasonable? - 8 weeks ago

>>Q1: Will the court decide something similar? Quite likely, yes, BUT whether it would really depends upon how much alternative accommodation for your wife would cost and how much of a mortgage she could reasonably be expected to obtain. That is what really determines what percentage she needs. >>Q2: Would spousal maintenance likely be awarded by the courts ? Probably not. Th

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Financial Agreement - 8 weeks ago

The problem is that she has M.E., (which you acknowledge), she has not worked for a number of years and what work you have mentioned is not likely to earn her much. You, on the other hand, obviously have a significantly greater earning potential than she does. There is also a dependent child. All these factors mean that you will struggle to get a clean break. That is not to say that you shouldn&#

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Financial Agreement - 8 weeks ago

>>If we can't agree a settlement and I had to go down the court route, would they side with her? Quite possibly, yes, for the reasons her solicitor has given. One very important piece of information missing from your post is how much you earn. You may not want to disclose that information but I am sure you will understand that it has a big impact upon whether you can afford to pay

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Struggling with the financial settlement - 8 weeks ago

It doesn't matter whether he divorced her outside the UK. If she lives here and she is a British citizen then she can apply to the UK courts for financial orders following a foreign divorce. The court will have exactly the same powers as if the divorce took place here. Bearing in mind that your (ex) husband has proved that he cannot be trusted the (ex) wife should take action sooner rather t

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Lawyer not authorised - 8 weeks ago

>>My lawyer said I need to sort it as they are not allowed to contact the court If you have paid them any money for this service - excluding the court fee - then it seems to me that you should be asking for your money back because this is all hassle that should have been unnecessary.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Delayed sale/Mesher order - 2 months ago

Mesher orders are invariably worded as a percentage rather than a figure and the whole point of that is to try and take into account the value of a property in the future. Pensions are settled now rather than at some point in the future so current values are what matter so far as pension orders are concerned.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Lawyer not authorised - 2 months ago

I think in the first place you should take it up with whoever you paid to issue the divorce petition. They may or may not be able to sort it out but if they can it should cost you less than a new lawyer.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Divorce help - stuck - 2 months ago

Often upon divorce the same income ends up maintaining two households rather than one. The inevitable result of that is that the standard of living of both spouses drops. That is just how it is.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum

Re: Charted surveyor help - 2 months ago

A estate agent is trying to encourage a sale to earn commission. A surveyor is trying to value the property objectively. The only actual way of establishing a price beyond argument is by selling the property.

by David Terry - UK Divorce Forum