My husband and I are splitting up. We own our house outright and have no mortgage on it. I haven't the finances to buy him out of it. He earns £3500 a month and I earn £840 a month. I raised his kids for 12 years while he kept the child allowance. At the time we equally shared all the bills. Can he make me sell the house to give him his share of the equity?
When you are going through a break up from a long term partner there is always much more than the emotional turmoil to deal with. The practical issues can really weigh on your mind and trying to split assets and money is never a pleasant experience.
The Marital Home
If both of your names are on the papers then your husband cannot make you sell the house without your agreement at this time. The courts can give an order forcing you to sell up if your husband goes down this route or as part of a divorce settlement. However, if you are living there with your children then he will have to be able to show good reason why you should do this.
If all his money is tied up in the house for example, then he may be able to convince a court that he needs to sell the house in order to live.
You mention that he earns more than you and that you shared the bills throughout your marriage. How you managed your money within your marriage bears no relevance to your legal standing and you have as much right to the home as he does.
If your children are still of school age then your husband will need to pay you child support to help you be able to afford to raise them and the courts will take their welfare into account when deciding on the home.
Have you sat down and talked your husband about this? It won't be an easy conversation to have as there will no doubt be a lot of emotion and resentment on both sides. However, if you can discuss the situation in a mature manner you may find that you can come to an agreement that you are both happy with.
As there is no mortgage on the property you do not need to worry about splitting the payments so the arrangement may be simpler. Another thing you need to do is to consult a lawyer so that you are clear of exactly where you stand legally and are able to talk to your husband in an informed way about what your options are.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
Anyway if worst comes to worst following the court hearing we may end up taking the divorce route , I am the sole owner of the family home & it has no mortgage since my Father lend me all the money to purchase it in full before we got married. I payed for every singe thing in the house and every single bill up to now & still paying . how will the house situation be sorted since i owe all the money to my father .
He has never worked and so our income has solely been what I have earned. I have paid the mortgage, bills and everything for 20 years. I have always put a monthly payment in his account so he has his own cash and have always bought anything that we need. I am so relieved that I never gave into having a joint account with him as he is so controlling. It has now got to a stage where I can no longer bear it and I want to start afresh. Can I retain the house if I can pay him off or will I have to sell? I’m also really worried that he’ll have half my pension - I’m a teacher and it’s not great. Any advice would be great.
He has now said he wants to start divorce proceedings in a couple of weeks and I should consider my options regarding the marital home, which is in both names. Two of our grown up sons still live at home, as well as my youngest son’s fiancée. Both my youngest son and myself have health issues which prevent/hinder our working and I am in dire financial difficulties, including having an IVA.
He has paid nothing at all since leaving, including nothing towards the mortgage payments. If I am forced to sell, I will not have enough money from the sale to buy anywhere for me to live, let alone my sons. I am sick with worry over this. Please tell me what rights I have, if any. Thanks
My husband and I are tenants in common for our house for which I paid £140,00 deposit and he £30,000. I have left with my 12 year old daughter(he is not the father) and want to sell due to a breakdown in our relationship. we have only been there 1 and a half years. can I force him to sell as I need to rent/buy somewhere else for me and my daughter as he wouldn't move out, and now says he wont sell. the tenancy is two thirds to one third in my favour.
It is in joint names, he is living elsewhere and has a good job earning decent money. My daughter, her fiancée and four month old daughter have been living with me since October so can he force me to sell the house?
She’s refusing to sell the house saying it’s the family home and she wants to stay there until the 16 year old leaves school even thought both say it’s not a nice place to live. The son has expressed a desire to sell and move on to his Dad. Wether that’s the same as he’s telling his Mum we don’t know. He needs to sell the property in order to buy a new house. Can he force her to sell? She’s going to see a soliciter, will a soliciter tell her she has to downsize or tell her to fight him?
My argument is that I also need a place with the children when i have them but she doesn't care about that bit.
In a nutshell can i make her sell.
I have a small pension which he has kept from me and has not returned and I would like to know what my options are. Can he really sell the house when the deeds are in both our names?
Our son also lives with us. He is a middle-aged managing his bi-polar condition via the GP and works in a local hospital. He regularly contributes 1/3 of all the bills in the house but I am concerned that with my husband deciding to sell, he has been threatening this for a long time, it might trigger his mental health problems again.
My son can look after himself but with his Banding in the hospital he cannot afford to move out as it is. The job is really good for him and I don't want all these things to complicate his progress. What do you suggest?
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