Buying a new House, can the ex claim?

Hi

My partner is currently going through a not so amicable divorce (year down the line and still no Nisi!!). His name is currently on the mortgage with his stbx's, but as she is currently paying the mortgage we are waiting for her to get it in her sole name. Once this happens, we are hoping to buy a house for us and our baby daughter. My question is, due to financial reasons (I'm on an IVA), the house would be in my partners name. Would the Ex be able to claim a stake in our house if we bought it before the divorce is final?

Thanks for any help on this!

This can be a bit of a grey area, in general until your partner has a sealed Consent Order all assets both solely and jointly owned can be considered marital assets to be used when deciding who gets what,

Much depends on how long they were married and if they have children also if any marital assets are used to fund the new purchase,


A quick chat with her solicitor should help,


For most it is best to wait until the financial side is agreed and written as a consent order then stamped by court, then its safe to buy another home.

Dukey

They were married 10 years, have two children (11 & 8). We were hoping to use the equity out of the FMH once the ex pays him! They agreed in mediation that my partner would get his share if/when any of the following occured:

Youngest reaches 18 or leaves education
She co-habits, remarries
She sells the house

We have been reliably informed that her boyfriend has moved in (she hasnt told my partner), although we also understand that this cannot be claimed unless he has been living there over 6 months.

When he does receive his share from the house and we use this to buy a home for us and if he still isnt divorced I now assume she can claim? I'm thinking that it would be better to wait until the Decree Absolute before going down this route as god forbid anything happens to my partner before then and not only could I find myself and my daughter homeless, but his ex would have my house!!!

Thanks for your reply!

The decree Absolute ends the marriage legally but not claims they can make on each other.

What your partner needs is a Clean Break consent order on assets, until then claims on each others assets can be made by either side.

I would strongly recommend not purchasing another property until they have a sealed order from court, parting with money before the consent order is not a good idea either, your partner should seek legal advise before buying a house and before parting with money.

Dukey

Thanks for your replies Dukey!

I'll take your advice and not do anything in regards to buying a house until the divorce is final and there is a Clean Break Consent Order done!

Last thing I need is the ex claiming against our home, especially as I know this is exactly what she would do. She is divorcing him for adultery with me, even though they were separated and werent living together for quite a while before we even met. She likes telling people that he left her for me! x