What legal rights do I have to our marital home? Please help.
February 19, 2017 at 4:38 pm
Hi all 🙂 im hoping someone can help me, I have tried searching online but I am finding it difficult to find information on my personal circumstance. Me and my wife are currently separated, she asked for an open relationship and hence the reason for getting a divorce… Now we are at the stage where we are trying to sort out our only asset which is our house. This is is where it gets complicated… So I’ll bullet point.
– we both own the house and pay monthly payments
– I moved out after separating as we couldn’t live together but I still pay my half of the mortgage payment
– the house is mid renovation, and I am the one who is renovating it, so I am wanting the house in my name to finish it to get the money back ive put into it
– my wife is getting a small buy out to allow her to find somewhere else to live
so my question is… If I get the house put in my name prior to divorce ( because it’s cheaper and easier to sort assets privately than going to court) even when her name is off the mortgage and she’s moved out, as part of the divorce could she still request half the value of the house?
Also… I am not paying for household bills as I don’t live there, so any debt that she gets herself in between me moving out and us getting divorced (all utility bills are in her name now, my name has been removed) would I be liable for half of her debt?
I i know it’s a complicated one, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Reply
I’m located in the UK
We are presently only in Canada but hope to be heading to the UK eventually. Check out this article https://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/feb/15/divorce-what-happens-to-the-family-home I think it might help. I would also contact my lawyer to make sure you know what your exact rights are before you do anything!