I had the final hearing in August last year. I represented myself as I ran out of funds. My ex had a full team but hadn’t paid; it was on account. As you can imagine, they and the DJ walked all over me. Documents of my health I sent a month before to the judge were confirmed received but not considered. I ended up having to pay part of his legal fees for not settling out of court. This was because he didn’t show where he had spent the money. He said his loans were marital, but they weren’t. I was older and in ill health and wasn’t working. I was ordered to pay all upkeep of the house, including the mortgage, until it was sold, although I wasn’t working—£2900 per month. I explained to the judge that I had sent documents ahead, but he said he couldn’t see them. Conclusively, he stated I would pay even if I left the home, or it would be repossessed. This is a complex case. My ex left me for someone else and lived with her, having a child while I was left in the home. With the £270,000 I put in the home, I couldn’t possibly walk out. We had no children together, although I have a child, and there’s a 15-year age gap. He took a large sum when he left and stated he was suicidal, but he had actually been in another relationship for two years. He claimed he lost the money he took and had accumulated over £200,000 in debt over the years. He refused to show the 12 months of full bank statements. The order was that he needs to be mortgage-free and have a house, while I can have a house but have to maintain the marital home. After the result, I unfortunately had huge mental health issues and was in a residential facility. Since then, I’ve not worked and can’t pay the mortgage. For every month I miss, the judge has ordered my ex to get that amount added to his share. I now have terrible credit and no sign of the house being sold. It feels inhumane. Can anyone help?
What about declaring yourself bankrupt? Read up on the law—there are provisions regarding real estate that could buy you time to live in the property while the government sells it for you. There’s a financial penalty for doing it this way, but the burden is lifted from you.
Not in the UK.
The question is, can I go back to court and appeal?
Is it possible to appeal? Yes. Are you likely to win? No.
The equity is £60,000 left in the house.
If you have £270,000 in equity, can’t you pull out like £50,000 to hold you over until it sells?
The equity has to be split 50/50 minus the mortgage payments I miss and £28,000 towards his fees.
Yes, but you should be able to pull equity and deduct that from your half when you sell.