Hi !

This is my first post here, so please be gentle with me

I have been married for 8 years and my solicitor has written on my instruction for a Separation Order to be drawn up. My circumstances are as follows:

Value of Property: £430,000
Mortgage O/S £114,000
1 child aged 4

Prior to our marriage we drew up a legal document stating that my wife would get the first £90,000 of any sum if the house was sold and myself £40,000. These were the sums that we put towards the total cost of the property when it was first bought.

I am trying to calculate how much I would potentially be en­title­d to given the above facts. Can anybody give me some advice on how much I could expect to receive, given that I want to start planning for the future on what I can afford etc.

Many thanks,

Horace

Horace,

There are four ways in which Courts can deal with the family home.

1. It may be transferred outright to one party ; this is not a common order, but it might be done, for example, if the couple own two houses, the husband gets one and the wife the other . Where such an order is made it would be normal for spousal maintenance to be reduced or even cancelled as compensation to the dispossessed spouse.
2. It may be sold and the proceeds divided ; this would be normal if the parties are relatively young, the marriage short and there are no children.
3. One party may buy the other out.
4. Where there are children, their welfare and need for a home is regarded as the most important consideration. It can happen that the Court orders a sale and division of the proceeds, but the sale may be postponed until the children are no longer dependent, and, in exceptional cases, even longer. Those on the site who are solicitors practising family law tell me that this type of order is becoming less common.

Which of these solutions is most appropriate depends entirely on the parties' individual circumstances.

Option 4 is quite often adopted where there is little option but to allow the wife ( assuming she is the parent with care ) to live in the house until the children cease to be dependent ; but in this case a sale might appear to the Court to be a better option ; it solves both parties' housing needs once and for all, and you would have a very long wait to realise your interest in the FMH.

You have to remember though that ancillary relief is very much of a package deal. You can't consider matters like spousal maintenance, housing, assets splits, pensions, individually. For example, if the husband is losing a lot of equity, he might be compensated by reduction or cancellation of spousal maintenance ( but not child support ). One common outcome is that the wife keeps the house and the husband retains his pension, although of course much depends on how much equity the husband is losing. There may be more than one way of allocating the assets and it's then a matter of deciding what suits you best. Not knowing your circumstances it is not possible for me to comment further.

Mike 100468