Divorce agreement 20 years ago

[EmmieG]

Hi,
My husband left me and my 2 children (aged 5 and 1) 20 years ago after years of abuse and I caught him having an affair with a friend.
In our divorce agreement it says when our daughter reaches 18, the house it to be sold and he gets 1/3rd of the value of the house. She is now 21 and the house is still unsold and he's recently mentioned he wants his money.
He hasn't put any money into the house for 20 years and gave about 10pounds a week for the children.
We also re-mortgaged the house to buy a business which he sold about 6 years ago (I saw notthing of the 15 years profit the property made). He has his own house with a small mortgage & a new family.
Does anyone know if I can dispute the divorce agreement and if he will have a leg to stand on?
If he forces me to sell the house and give him a third I will have to take out another mortgage (which I won't get because I am unemployed due to now being registered as disabled).
He doesn't deserve a penny but will he get it? I want to be able to take him to court and for the judge to laugh at him!
Thanks for any advice anyone has...??

[Stu Dent]

It's a tricky one, Emmie, and will require professional legal advice that I can't give you. You also don't say what else the settlement contained. Are you entitled to profits from his business? What was he supposed to contribute to the house? What amount of child support was supposed to be paid?

But regarding the single issue you have asked about? On it's own, the court order is probably enforceable and you will either have to pay your ex one third of it's value. However my view is that this third will be a valuation of what it was when you separated, NOT what it is now.

So, if at the date of separation, (let's say February 26, 1988), the house was valued at �99k, then you need to find �33k. If the house is now valued at �300k my view is that he is not entitled to �100k - only the value at the relevant date of separation - �33k. That figure, I am sure, could be offset against whatever parts of the agreement your ex failed to meet. Perhaps you could even gain?

See a solicitor who specialises in Family Law but perhaps only after your ex decides to take action against you. Unless you feel you could gain from court action, then wait for him to try and enforce the sale/payment he is apparently owed.

[Stu Dent]

sorry. Line 9 should have also said after 'value' - or sell the house and divide the relevant shares.

[innocenti]

Very good advise from Stu Dent but I dont think the court will agree with the date of seperation being when the house should be valued from.

I am afraid that no court in the land will laugh your ex husband out of court. Your ex agreed to let you keep the house till your daughter was 18. If you had defaulted on the payments and the house was repossessed the mortgage company would have gone after your ex and his new home could have been at risk, but now there is profit involved he is not entitlted? You cant have it both ways, liable for any shortfall but not entitled to any profit.

As this was agreed by a court order I doubt there is a lot of room for argument. As you have had the house for over 20 years there cannot be a lot of mortgage left on it so if you sold up you should have enough left over to buy yourself another house.

[themas]

In a lot of cases it is possible to re-open divorce financial settlements - it depends on the precise nature of the settlement and how it was worded at the time. A family law solicitor should be able to advise you on whether this can be done - provided you have the original Court order to show him.

Did you re-mortgage to buy the business after the divorce, or was this done earlier? If it was after the divorce why did you agree to it and what was agreed about the effect it would have on the divorce settlement?

[Peter Pedant]

Oh come on,
you have been perfectly happy with a divorce settlement for 20 yrs and then in year 21 you say o I dont want to do that now?

on what grounds - purely that after 20 you dont fancy giving him any money ?