please could someone help me. I have been married 4 years. I have 3 children from previous marriage range - 11 to 16. my husband inherited 97k two years into our marriage, we have now been married 4 years, he replaced sofas with new leather ones, other items of furniture, tv and such like. Paid off all my and his debts, bought both of us new cars, redecorated house and replaced carpets. He also put a conservatory on our council house. He has none of the inheritance left.
My question is, can he make me pay back any or all of the monies he has spent over the last two years of our marriage, and if he takes the furniture, tv's etc; does he have to replace them as I had all these items, albeit they were not new, when he moved in.
thanks for all who read this, hoping someone can help me.
loodybin

In short - no - all money spent during the marriage on furniture etc is spent and gone. The furniture is jointly owned. He cannot just take it. If you are now getting divorced then the assets including the house and furniture will be divided between you ­base­d largely on needs.

I'm sorry but can I question this advice ?

During our ten year marriage my mother sadly passed away and left me a small inheritance of £44,000. With this I paid off a lump sum of the mortgage and used the rest to but items for the house such as furniture. I have been advised by two solicitors that I am en­title­d to reclaim my inheritance from my financial settlement - is this incorrect ?

Yes, it is - you will seriously struggle to reassert any right to that inheritance as it has gone, sorry. If however your assets significantly outweigh your needs you may have a slight chance, but I certainly wouldnt put any money on it - sorry.

Amanda

loodybin wrote:
please could someone help me. I have been married 4 years. I have 3 children from previous marriage range - 11 to 16. my husband inherited 97k two years into our marriage, we have now been married 4 years, he replaced sofas with new leather ones, other items of furniture, tv and such like. Paid off all my and his debts, bought both of us new cars, redecorated house and replaced carpets. He also put a conservatory on our council house. He has none of the inheritance left.
My question is, can he make me pay back any or all of the monies he has spent over the last two years of our marriage, and if he takes the furniture, tv's etc; does he have to replace them as I had all these items, albeit they were not new, when he moved in.
thanks for all who read this, hoping someone can help me.
loodybin

Correct me folks if i'm wrong here

but whatever monies he received from anywhere during the period of your marriage is jointly owned. Both of you spent the 97k on things that you both decided to have.

The only way he could adjust the balance of the settlement in his favour is if he can prove that you squandered some of it.

.... I have an idea, let him take the conservatory as full and final

I'm sorry but can I say that this really stinks !!

So what the actual position is that I have lost my inheritance through having paid off a lump sum from the mortgage (at his insistence I might add!!) plus buying stuff for the house in the vain hope that we would live happily ever after

All it would seem that I am now en­title­d to is half of whatever pittance we can manage to sell our house for (after the deduction of our mortgage and loan)plus whatever sticks of furniture we agree I can take - although these will be of no use to me now as I cannot afford to buy anywhere to put them now and never will be able to !

I stand to be homeless/renting bedsits for the rest of my life after having been a homeowner for the last 15 years whilst in the meantime, he gets to keep his property in London which he co-owns with his mother ,his business assets, his cars, bikes and other boy toys. He has a roof over his head as he can live in his London property and still has a wacking inheritance coming to him when my mother-in-law passes away ! I have been told that, as there is a possibility that he utilised an inheritance to buy his part share of his London property HE gets to keep that and I can't touch it yet I am not en­title­d to reclaim my inheritance which I invested in our marital home ??

How can any of this be fair or equitable ? I know it is always said that family law is not about winners or losers but, as far as I can see it, there is a loser round here and it is very much me !!!

i'm in a similar position.

married for four years, second time round for both of us. i received a large sum of money three years ago as part of a pension settlement from my first marriage, i spent all of it on the house and mortgage. he hasn't contributed much to the household finances at all.

now we're divorcing am i going to lose that? i can stand losing what went on the house but not what went into the mortgage. my stbx will receive a large pension commutation next year and a very good pension. i won't get much out of my pension due to bringing up children.

i'm very worried.