currently going through a separation at the wifes request, this I have no problem with as the marriage is over and has been for some time, however it's her demands that I have a problem with.
there is around 100K equity in the home which we are both still living in.
we have 2 children aged 13 and 18.
Married for 20 years.
now it gets complicated, when we met I was renting and she had a mortgaged home from a previous marriage, this house was sold and £8000 profit put down as a deposit on our current home.
This she insists is the 1st thing to come out of the sale of current home.
She then wants a 70/30 split in her favour.
Added to this we owe her father 30,000 which was a loan for the family car although I don't use it as have never driven, out of my 30% she wants me to pay her father 15,000, cars current value is 14,200.
so in a nutshell this is what she expects, is this likely to happen ?
100k equity
8,000 to spouse ( from her original house )
64,400 to wife ( 70%)
27,600 myself ( 30% )
out of this I pay her Dad £15,000 for a joint car loan and she keeps me the car.
leaving me 12,600 from 100,000 equity
Inn my opinion, it's reasonable that her father is paid back in full, and the car then belongs to you both equally and she can buy your half off you if she wants to keep it, or it's sold and the money put into the equity. I would also say that it's reasonable that she does get her original equity back, but I would say that a fairer way is that the repayment to her father comes out before the equity split, so the equity comes down to £62k, which would give you £18,600 equity, plus what she would pay you for your half of the car. The question is how is she justifying the 70/30 split ? Also, how have bills been split while you have been married.
I think there needs to be compromise, and you will really need to go to mediation - I think this is now mandatory in divorce proceedings if there is any dispute over the financial arrangements. You are also looking at around £20-£30k in equity from this, so what you don't want to to get into a big legal battle involving solicitors otherwise you will both end up losing far more in solicitors costs than you gain in increased equity.