Second marriage and his marital debts.

Hi, please can anyone help?

I married my husband in 2004. When i met him he was divorced.
His wife had commited adultery and left the marital home, (joint names) she later asked him to free her up from the mortgage and all associated debts so she could move on. The house was in negative equity at the time and she left him with one child. So he paid a solicitor to take her name off the mortgage and it went into his sole name. As did all the debts. She didnt pay any maintenance. At the time neither could afford a solicitor to get a Clean Break and Consent Order!!! (PEOPLE BE AWARE!!!) So they agreed verbally! (BIG MISTAKE)
Anyway i met him and knew nothing of this. Falling in love (DER) i remortgaged my property and paid all their debts off.
Including the mortgage on the matrimonial home. On the promise my money would be returned to me on the sale of his FMH (my name was put on the deeds). He moved in with me and we married. As soon as we married the usual letter arrived from a solicitor.. My client blah blah ancilliary relief..P60, 3 months wage slips blah blah. That was two years ago and the final hearing is in two weeks. It took 3 years for us to finally sell his house. He returned my money. A sec37 order then arrived stopping my husband from selling or from doing anything with the money! I.E paying back my mortgage. We have continued to struggle for two years robbing peter to pay paul. I dont work anymore due to illness and we only have his wage. I have a 16yr daughter and 18 yr son who lives with us.
Our outgoings are more than our incomings. we are representing ourselves as we have no money. She lives with a partner, both have properties they rent out, although denied they live together for past two years, now they admit 2 weeks b4 court they are an item. She has sent one offer and that is 45k from FMH profit and 66.6% of my husbands pension, (he retires in 4years) We just dont have 45k!
She refuses to accept there was no profit in sale of FMH even though we can proove it and surely as she never paid any contributions to the upkeep she wouldnt be awarded any of it anyway? She also hasnt paid into his pension fund for 5 years.
They were married 23 years. He at present (£1900 per month) she £1450 per month but states £900 per month
My questions are.....
Does the court look at the finances from 5 years ago? Or as of today? She since went on to make 40k in property deals.
She has her own personal pension fund and has been ordered to provide the CETV value but so far refuses. Will they take an inference from that?
Will they take me and my children into account ?
Can the courts order us to take on more debt to pay any award?
Im scared i am going to lose everything i ever worked for.
Will my husband be ordered to pay her maintenance? even though she has maintained herself for 5 years?
We have received 11 letters in 14 days from her solicitors bombarding us with god knows what information. I feel i cant cope much longer.
...... Sorry i have just re read all the above so many questions.... ANY... advice would be so welcome.
Many thanks.

Does the court look at the finances from 5 years ago? Or as of today? She since went on to make 40k in property deals.

I think they will look more at todays situation than the situation 5 years ago.

She has her own personal pension fund and has been ordered to provide the CETV value but so far refuses. Will they take an inference from that?

Yes they will try to infer what value it may be.

Will they take me and my children into account ?

They should not take your income of assets into account [ie she could not claim any of them, but they will consider how your relationship impacts your husbands outgoings (i.e. if being with you saves him money cos you pay some of the bills that could be considered). But her needs will come ahead of you and your kids (i.e. the court may well take the view that your husbands first responsibility is to his ex) However as she has a new partner that helps your cause.

Can the courts order us to take on more debt to pay any award?

No - they can only share out the assets that are currently available - they cannot ask you to take on a loan to pay an award larger than the current assets.

Will my husband be ordered to pay her maintenance? even though she has maintained herself for 5 years?

If she is working and has a new pension and has a new partner it seems unlikely that your husband will have to pay spousal maintenace unless he earns lots more than her - perhaps 3 times more.

Many thanks for the quick reply....
The only thing i am scared of.... is when i remortgaged my property it was for £160k i paid off my outstanding mortgage, £58k and all their debts and mortgage of £102k. When we sold thier FMH, i got back my money. £102k. I have since had to spend 25k on debts and because i have not worked due to illness ect... i have 75k left, even if i paid it off our joint mortgage (which i have been ordered not to touch it)we would still be left with a £95k mortgage. as i have this sitting in the bank will she get any of it? i beleive its mine not his or hers. It was mine b4 i married him. But has it now become ours?? As in joint because we are married?
I.E... do the courts take mine and my husbands finances as one and give to her from our pot? Even though she has not contributed one penny to any of the mortgage payments on the FMH?
Many many thanks and sorry for all the questions.:

It is quite a complex situation.

But our understanding is that she can only claim assets and income from him.

As long as you can show that the money clearly belonged to you before the marriage and was provided as a loan (not a gift) then you should be OK.

It is important that you have all the relavent documents showing the money trails.

If the money is genuinely yours you should be OK.

She however may be trying to show that it actually belongs to their marriage and he has put it in your name to 'hide it'.

As I say - proving the original source of the money and how it was used is the key.

Many Thanks for the reply,

I have paper trails of all my money and assets, the trouble is no one seems to care what i have to say.(im not allowed in court, yet they discuss my finances) His exwife sat in court at the FDR with my bank statement in front of her showing how much money i have in my account and wafted it about in front of the judge. 3 Judges have all said i do not have to supply any information at all about my finances, all accepted that i remortgaged my property, but her and her solicitors still keep pushing and pushing.
To be honest i think they try and bully us every which they can because we represent ourselves.
To be perfectly honest i dont care anymore, i look at the daily tabloids and see little girl gone missing in Portugal and police officer killed, it puts all this in perspective.
As for the courts and judges of this land i dont beleive MEN get a fair hearing at all. Although i am a woman and want equality in terms of fairness, it seems to me men get a raw deal in the eyes of the court.
You know what one judge said to my husband in one hearing because he was wearing a suit???? (showing respect for the court) Seems to me like you are doing OK!!!! What a joke! I bought him the suit for £35 in a sale at M and S!!!! She turns up to court in a pair of trainers, jeans and low cut top! aww poor her...cant afford much!
Another Judge (female again) said on the issue of her conduct... She could sleep with as many men as she liked... its NOT an issue!!!
So let me get this right!!! You get married.... Make vows (a contract) She breaks the contract and he is supposed to support her (maintenance) for the rest of his life or until some other mug marries her!!!!
Fairness and equality??? Thats all anyone wants!
I am sorry if i sound bitter, but this has been going on for two years, shes had two orders with Penal notices attached, still after 9months not abided by them, has anyone done anything???? No the court just says pay another £90 in court fees to have her arrested, but to thier knowledge not one person has ever been arrested for none compliance!!! Hahahhahahhha what a mockery .....our Great British legal service!
I give up and accept what will be will be! The final hearing will be over in 10 days time and i dont expect anything other than to be shafted!
Many many thanks for all your advice i wish you'd been around two years ago for all the help i've received from you in the past few days, i will write a blog on here after the final hearing just to let other people know what happens and hopefully be of some help to others.
One thing the opponent barrister said to my husband (out of earshot of his client (my husbands first wife) was You do not need a solicitor or barrister you have done a fantastic job, your file is one of the best i have ever seen!!!! Makes you laugh dont it? Hes on £800 an hour and my husbands file is better than his!!!!! I am going to publish a book with all the letters that her solicitor ever sent my hubby and publish all his replies! At least people going through the same (self representing ones anyway) will have a copy letter that could help them!
Kind regards.