Household Bills

My wife has just walked out and is seeking a divorce.
The property we own is in both names so the mortgage was and all the bills were being paid out of a joint account,we were both putting in the same amount each mont.
Until this time the house and all the bills were paid out of a joint
account.When I checked the account the other day I found she had only put in half the amount.When asked why her answer was as I dont live there so I am only paying the mortgage and not paying any bills ie gas,electricity,water building insurance.
Is this correct she does not have to pay towards the costs of the bills.
Many thanks.

Hi aviary. Sorry you find yourself here. You will find lots of support.
I am not an expert but I am pretty sure that
she is only legally liable for her share of the mortgage & council tax (not sure about the building ins). This is classed as "jointly and severally liable."
The other utility bills are down to the person who has the benefit of them while living at the property.

That is correct. If you are living in the property you are the one who has to pay the bills. She will now have her own bills elsewhere. You could try to get her to contribute to the buildings insurance as she still has a stake in the property, but that would be all.

Best wishes,
Sadie

mez wrote:

she is only legally liable for her share of the mortgage & council tax (not sure about the building ins). This is classed as "jointly and severally liable."

You are right about it being called jointly and severally liable but wrong about what this means. There is no such thing as "her share". Jointly and severally liable means that BOTH parties are responsible for the FULL amount. That is very different from each party being liable for 50% of the payments or any other percentage. It means that, if the mortgage does not get paid, the lender can chase EITHER of you for the FULL amount either through debt recovery agents or court action. Usually they would chase the occupier of the property since it is easier. If the occupier does not have the means to pay then they may chase the other party instead or as well. It''s totally up to the lender since you are BOTH responsible for the FULL amount.


Often when one party moves out, they will not contribute at all. After all, you have sole usage of the property so does it not make sense that (if you are able) you pay the whole mortgage and bills? In effect you are paying her portion of the mortgage because you are "renting" her portion of the house.

I would take her 50% mortgage payments and say thank you very much. Fighting/arguing will just pi$$ her off and cause her to pay less.

What cookie says is true, think yourself lucky she is paying anything.
She doesnt have to, and only a court can force her to pay anything toward the mortgage.
They would come after the person living in the house for payment anyhow.
Whilst you know this, its still worth having a dig, just so she carries on paying what she is.
If you said, oh thats ok I''ll manage, you can be sure it would go down then again.
best wishes.

Wish I would have listened to you guys ages ago on this. Been a mug paying way over the odds. I now JUST pay the mortgage and all the threats keep coming but no interim court date yet. Thats because it would be a waste of time. Hindsight is always 20/20