Dees
My concern here is that you have an agreement which would stand up if and when you do get round to a divorce and financial settlement. Court is definitely to be avoided but if the agreement cannot be translated into a
Consent Order that will be agreed by a judge, you could end up with problems in future. Of course you could just stay separated forever ... or divorce without a legally binding agreement. That is your choice but a legally binding agreement does protect you both.
NB AFAIK if you do not divorce, you would still be his widow if he died .. and would be eligible for widow''s pension. I would always suggest that if divorce is inevitable, it is best to get it over with sooner rather than later. You can divorce him now using mild UB grounds, wait two years for a divorce by mutual consent OR five years if he does not consent.
Bear in mind that the courts in England and Wales look at needs and assets on divorce and not separation. If you wait a long time to divorce, his pension pot will have been building .. He could also claim a share of your property later ... depending on his level of assets on divorce.
At 50 with a salary of 24k you would be able to get a small mortgage ... you need to check exactly how much in order to work out what you can spend on a property... and also need to be aware of running costs.
He too would be able to get a mortgage but would need a deposit if he wanted to buy.He has shares - how much are these worth? Could this be a deposit for a one bed flat which is his strict need?
Paying off all the debts would be a great help in terms of living costs. I agree that the adult children who are working should contribute - even if it is only a small amount.
If your youngest does decide to go to university, he may be eligible for some financial support with fees etc because of your income.
In effect, if you have all the available equity then it could be seen as part your "share" of the property and part capitalisation of SM with no further claim .. and
offsetting the value of his pension.
It is unusual for one party to have all the equity ... but how "fair" that is does depend on the value of his shares etc which are part of the marital "cash pot" ... and the size of his pension
CETV.
You do really need to know these before agreeing ... because as things stand you would be able to claim a good share of the pension (on divorce) and you need to be able to decide if this is worth more to you in the long run than the equity.
As he has a much higher income - it is indeed double yours - he is in a better position to recover financially .. and no ongoing SM would help.Of course, instead of saving, he could just spend the lot ..
His life choices - ie OW with 4 children - are not your responsibility. His first family - ie you - should not suffer financially because of this.
I suggest you think very seriously about whether a
Separation Agreement is appropriate or whether you both would be better to divorce and have a legally binding settlement.
Hadenoughnow