divvying up of assets

Hi Soulruler
All the houses (rental and accomodation) are in joint names as are the mortgages. The benefits are on top - they both earn about the same from what I understand and then she gets all the child benefits - my partner doesn''t.

I am going to assume that there is a period of co-habitation between you and him which in my view would mean that his needs are financially on the face of it less than hers.

You do not mention whether she is co-habiting or the reasons (which may not be relevent to the split the marriage broke down two years before the intended divorce) for the divorce.

If she is not co-habiting I would suggest that he considers a 60/40 split of assets and liabilities as the income of his wife is the same with benefits on top but she has more child care and he presumably has the benefit of shared monthly liabilities and entertainment costs with you.

Try not to waste a huge amount of emotional and financial cost in legal wrangling in divorce.

Has he or she started the divorce or financial remedy yet?

No he doesn''t live with me and won''t do so until he gets divorced as that would open up the gates to merry hell otherwise she doesn''t cohabit and she left him all those years ago for no reason other that she wanted to separate (no affair etc).
With regards to child care, they split the cost of the one child who is in nursery - and he pays for half of clubs, uniforms etc for all of them.
So really she is getting a good deal as my partner will pay what is appropriate and fair and wants to take care of his children. She unfortunately feels like the aggrieved party (which she genuinely isn''t) and wants to punish him...

Oh and the nisi has been granted and first financial hearing is next week, hence the questions

In that case if I were him I would put in an open offer for a 50/50 split of the assets and debts of the marriage (any debts since the split to be the responsibility of the party that holds them), take into account that the wife is currently the greater income including benefits, Clean Break, neither party co-habiting, the greater income of the wife enabling her to make up a short fall in pension (which in both cases is not great in real terms), the three rental properties to be either transferred into individual names and perhaps one sold (depending upon values and the terms of the lease of the tennents and whether a buyer can be found or the tennents given notice to either quit or buy).

Make the offer an open offer until after the first appointment in view of coming to an early settlement - assuming all financial disclosures have been made.

Hopefully that way you can avoid this going to the next round which would be an financial dispute resolution.

If both parties cannot come to a settlement at the first appointment, in the corridors or during the hearing in front of the judge in chambers (think most FA are in chambers - not open court) then hopefully you will have enough information from the hearing to come to a Consent Order which can be sealed by the court before another hearing.

Has his wife put in any suggestions apart from a 50/50 split of assets and him taking on the FMH debt? Also has that offer gone in writing to him and if so how?

Has he made any offers to settle already?