[Misc] Split-up advice needed

[moggy]

This is for a friend……….no, really
So my friend is about 55ish and was living with his partner for 17years.
They split up and he’s moved out and living in their motor-home (still on finance)
He was black listed for many years and his only accounts was his business account and post office account.
All his savings @100k was in her account which she won’t give him any.
The big Audi and the motor home is in her name even though he’s been paying the finance on them.
Now she’s taken legal advice to reclaim the motorhome which will render him homeless even though he’s the one paying for it.
She won’t allow him access to the house so he can get his tools and belongings.
Is there anything he can do?

 

[Stat Brother]

So she's single?

 

[Chicken Run]

This is for a friend……….no, really
So my friend is about 55ish and was living with his partner for 17years.
They split up and he’s moved out and living in their motor-home (still on finance)
He was black listed for many years and his only accounts was his business account and post office account.
All his savings @100k was in her account which she won’t give him any.
The big Audi and the motor home is in her name even though he’s been paying the finance on them.
Now she’s taken legal advice to reclaim the motorhome which will render him homeless even though he’s the one paying for it.
She won’t allow him access to the house so he can get his tools and belongings.
Is there anything he can do?

Why have they split?


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[portslade seagull]

Talk/contact CAB might help, they would push him in the right direction

 

[Justice]

She sounds like a reasonable lady

 

[Stat Brother]

She sounds like a reasonable lady

The actual honest answer to #3 may make that less of a lol's.

Or not, obviously.

 

[nwgull]

Has he been paying towards the mortgage and stuff like that from any of his personal accounts? I’m not an expert, but advice I’ve taken in the past when cohabitating has been that anyone paying towards a mortgage (outside of a formal rental agreement) is entitled to an appropriate portion of the equity gained during the time the contributions were being made.

2nd best piece of advice I’ll give today would be to contact a solicitor for a free initial 30 min consultation where they can give you a properly informed opinion of your friend’s options.

Best piece of advice is that no matter how much you’re in love, never trust anyone you get into a relationship with to the extent that you hand over your financial independence to them. And don’t get married; it’s a pointless legal document.

 

[martin tyler]

Take some legal advice
Numerous give 30 min free appointments to start with. Just because it is in her name doesn’t mean she owns it. If he can prove contributions over the time of the relationship and likewise contributions into the savings account he is likely to get some of it back

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Feel for you, my mate has been living in his van the past year or so, misses living in HIS house whilst he pays the bills, she's stopped him seeing his 2 young kids, costing him a bomb in court atm.
One of the reasons I don't want to get married or have kids!

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[Uncle C]

Sounds like he was trying to 'shelter' his money in his partners name. Always a double edged sword.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

On the face of it they appear to be a couple and that ultimately a court would probably split assets and debts 50/50. As said above, a free 30 minutes with a solicitor. A lot of people spout a lot of bluster that they are going to get this and that, typical narcissistic tendencies. At the end of the day it needs to go to arbitration for an agreement and failing that to court to settle.

 

[happypig]

As above, talk to a solicitor ASAP.

 

[Bry Nylon]

As above, talk to a solicitor ASAP.

If the motorhome is a sticking point, try to find one that offers No Winnebago no Fee

 

[Springal]

Don’t concede anything in the hope of goodwill / favour / rekindling the relationship

 

[marlowe]

......And don’t get married; it’s a pointless legal document.

It's actually a very useful legal document if you don't want the surviving partner to be hit with a prohibitive inheritance tax bill when the other one dies.

 

[moggy]

They were fostering children so most of their combined income was generated by that.
He’s a roofer so gets good money. His money would go into his business account and she would withdraw from the business account to her account every week, £350 so £1500 a month she was withdrawing out from there.

 

[Uncle C]

It's actually a very useful legal document if you don't want the surviving partner to be hit with a prohibitive inheritance tax bill when the other one dies.

And often a continuation of private/company pension to the survivor in the event of death.

 

[marlowe]

It already sounds like she is a fairly unreasonable person, although she may have justifiable reasons for her attitude, without knowing the full history of their relationship.

So the next question is how honest is she?
If and when the situation goes to litigation, as it sounds like it probably will, how likely is she to be blatantly dishonest in her statement?
If there is a good risk of dishonesty on her part relating to matters he will find difficult to disprove, for instance who paid for what, it might be a good idea for him to take some action to try and mitigate against that possibility.

I would suggest trying to have a discussion with her in a totally civil and non aggressive manner where the points of contention which she might lie about in Court are casually raised. She might discuss those issues more honestly if it is just the two of them especially if the atmosphere is one of civility. I would also suggest surrepticiously recording the conversation to establish the fact on record which might be lied about. That recording might prove useful in any litigation.

Your friend wont be able to use the recording in Court but he will under certain circumstances be able to use the transcript of that recording at the discretion of the judge.

Sometimes you have to play a bit dirty if you want a fair result, especially if it is in the interests of the truth coming out.

 

[nwgull]

They were fostering children so most of their combined income was generated by that.
He’s a roofer so gets good money. His money would go into his business account and she would withdraw from the business account to her account every week, £350 so £1500 a month she was withdrawing out from there.

You can’t just withdraw money from a business account without some sort of declaration of a director’s loan, which would ultimately be reconciled with a dividend that would be taxable. Alternatively, if she was an ‘employee’ of the company, there’d be PAYE payable. There seems to be more to this than meets the eye.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Feel for you, my mate has been living in his van the past year or so, misses living in HIS house whilst he pays the bills, she's stopped him seeing his 2 young kids, costing him a bomb in court atm.
One of the reasons I don't want to get married or have kids!

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Have you thought about upgrading your van