Proceedings started against me (can't sell now)

I'm in the process of selling the former matrimonial home and buying a new one. However, the former wife has put a block on this claiming that she wants 50:50 of the revenue.

It's an odd situation.

All of the liabiliites are in my name. My name is sole on the mortgage (at her insistance incase "something goes wrong"), all the credit card and loan debt is on my record (same reasoning), I'm still also paying the mortgage and insurances on the house.

Up until November last year, she and the kids (age 9 and 2) were living there. They have since given up that house and moved down the road into rented accomodation.

Last Feb, I was accused of having an affair - completely out of the blue and unwarrented and totally wrong. I denied it, but it was the last straw in an strained marriage (I would work every hour under the sun to keep things going and she would sit on her backside watching the kids mess the place up [I'd tidy up and make dinner and clean the dishes etc after getting home at 10pm having been out since 7!] and watching the TV). Don't start me on any sort of physical relationship - in the 15 years together, it was on average once a month and then only if I was lucky!

Quick example - I lost my job in the August of 2006 and spent every hour trying to find work. She did NOTHING at all to help. She brought in no money (that said, there was nothing new there, she stopped working about 8 months after we moved into the new house and even then, she was on a 2.5 day per week contract). I started then on an agency contract and worked from 8 to 9pm 3 days a week and then til 5 and 1 on the other two. Again, I'd still have to clean up after her.

Things broke down and I moved out at the end of last April - since then, I've been a far nicer person and happier than I've been in ages.

Now this happens. I get the kids once a week, she stops me having them any more than that, there is no chance of me taking them abroad and basically, they're suffering because she's using them against me. If I want the kids for more than a day, I basically need to lie!

Her current stance is that she wants a 50:50 split of the proceedings from the house. I find this completely unfair - especially as everything that costs is in my name. I know it's really down to the court to decide, but I'm really not happy to give her anything.

Since she went, I've had to redecorate. The kitchen is bare (she took all the cupboards and broke what was left), the fridge and drier have gone as have the storage cupboards from the dining room. The carpets are a mess.

From a real value of 72k, I've taken an offer of 55k from a developer - most of which was down to the state she left the place in.

I'm off for some legal advice next week, but could do with some advice from here.

Hello nodiod
youve found the right place for advice and support lots of members have similar storys to yours.
if i have read it right your wife is divorceing you and the kids are with her, the starting piont for asset split is 50/50 it makes no differance that you paid the morgage and bills your wife was raising the kids (or not) from the courts piont of view you both contributed to the marrige.
read the wiki step by step to divorce its very good and enter your details in the wki calculator to give you an idea of who gets what,
hang in there keep posting and we answer
dukey

couple of other things you cant sell the house without spouces permision, you can begin sorting finances after the nisi is issued but cant be finalised untill absolute is granted