It is a really common misconception that finances are automatically split 50/50 in a divorce.
It is actually quite rare that this happens when it comes to housing.
The reason it is rare, is that 50/50 equal sharing of assets is not the goal of the court in a divorce. The goal of the legal system is to ensure that the financial needs of the two people involved are met.
The concept of need is the only concept that we need to use in most cases. It is only cases where there is a significant surplus of money that we start looking at sharing.
Let’s say that the main asset for division is a family home, which would leave £300,000 available to share once sold. One spouse earns £75,000 per annum and the other earns £10,000 as they work part time to be available before and after school for the children.
If the pot of £300,000 was shared equally, then one spouse would have £150,000 to put towards a house. The other spouse would be able to borrow using their salary, perhaps a sum of £250,000. This would enable them to use the £150,000 plus their mortgage capacity of £250,000 to buy a large family home.
This would not work as an outcome, as one spouse would not be able to buy a home, and it would not meet their needs.
It is for this reason that the net sale proceeds from a house are usually divided unequally, as people are usually in different financial circumstances when they are leaving a marriage.
The solution to divorce finances is outcome led in needs cases. Ask yourself, how do we split our money to ensure that we can both buy a house? You will need to do some work looking into your mortgage capacities and house prices in your area. This will then give you an indication about how those housing needs are going to be met.
We can help you resolve your finances on divorce.
