capital split

I am divorcing and welcome any advice re likely capital split
my husband is 62 and earns 5k per year
I am 37 and studying and plan to earn 30K per year
we have 2 kids of 6 and 4
I gave up work to run our property business (mostly in his name)and look after kids. I will work when kids go back to school
husband not very able to look after kids and can't cook etc.

No hope of ever getting any maintenance from husband because he doesnt earn and spends loads.

We have total assets including family home (after cgt) of 1.6m
I now own 550k and he owns 1.05m

I desperately want to keep the house, but its worth 1.2m and has a mortgage of 550k. Without any support I can only just earn enough to pay for me and kids and the bills by myself but can't manage a mortgage.

Can I force my husband to sell off his other assets to pay off the mortgage so I can carry on living in the house. Can we agree he gets the money when kids turn 18?? I could manage a 200k interest-only mortgage which I would pay for by having lodgers.

if it went 50/50 then I'd get 800k. However would this be fair if he was never going to be able to pay any maintenance?

Yes may or probably will get a bigger share of total assets pot which include all wages pensions and possible future earnings potential. if hubby is of that way of thinking.

800k in realistic terms in my part cheshire would get you somewhere between 8 &10 3 bedroom houses with quite reasonable gardens back and front, I expect you would only need one and could very well live off the rest rented out, may mean you each lowering your standards of where you live but you can more than survive, so there would be no panick of a place to live.

of course i can find places to move to and I have places in mind that are even cheaper. the issue is the children already have their own social lives, the school has a very strong community, the location is ideal in every way. The main reason not to move is contact with dad, he is real londoner with a network in london he could not do without and I could never see him moving. I feel we should try to live very close by for the sake of children. Otherwise I would move near my parents which would make life easier for me. the location has good job prospects for me so I can support the kids. hard for kids to be miles away from dad, when he could be round the corner.

Your husband earns £5k a year, you're studying and you have a £550k mortgage.... yet he spends loads?? Must have a money tree in tree in the quite substantial garden...

Helene,

One key piece of information missing is the length of your marriage.

Short marrriages tend to be settled on the basis of what was put into the marriage - i.e. each takes out proportionally what they put in.

Long marriages (over 10 years) are considered by the 50:50 starting point.

In your case, you will the the PWC, the parent with care and due consideration would be assigned to that fact by the court.

The needs of the children are primarily a roof over their head. Whether that is a £1.2m or £800K roof is somewhat academic. Your soon to be ex also has a housing need, which also needs to be considered.

Assuming a starting point of 50:50, the total assets are £1.6m

Deduct the mortgage of £550K as a liability - £1.05m

Split remaining assets by 2 = £525K starting point.

Assume a very favourable settlement of 75:25

Asset split is £787K:£262K

Not nearly enough to buy the house at £1.2m - still need a further £413K

Interest only mortgage on that is pretty hefty from a £30K income, plus lodgers revenue.

Sorry, but it doesn't look all that promising for you.

Unless I have missed something?

Maybe someone else will spot the flaw in my argument - best of luck, Mike

You are right Gilly. Something does not add up here and it is not my Tesco bill!!!!

Sorry Helene I think your hubby has probably left a few noughts off what he has told you his income is.

To support that sort of mortgage you need an annual income of £200,000 not £5,000.