sale of matremonial home

[kwalker5]

I have been divorced from my ex husband since 2006 but seperated from him since 2004. At the time of divorce he refused to sign the minute of agreement so my solicitor went ahead and processed the divorce anyway. I moved out of the matremonial home and have been renting ever since. The mortgage has always been in both our names but he has paid this since seperation and I have paid rent for me and our daughter as he refused to give me the house and he wouldn't move out which gave me no alternative but to move out to get on with my life.
I would now like to have my own mortgage and move on with my life and have asked to put the house up for sale or buy me out. He informs me he has sought advice from a solicitor who says I am liable for half of all the mortgage and insurance payments since the seperation date even though I am the one who has paid rent also. He is refusing to move out of the house and says there is nothing I can do about it as If I force the property for sale and division I would gain nothing anyway apart from lawyer's fee's. I don't know what to do and just want an end to this and have my name removed from the property. The house has gone up quite a bit in value.

Kerry

[Ethel]

You can apply to the Court for an Order of Sale - it will not be refused.

This means that the house must be sold. The division of assets is a separate issue.

He is talking nonsense - I assume he has not being paying maintenance for the child so tell him that he is liable for maintenance for the same period.

[kwalker5]

hi Ethel
He has paid maintenance but has put the payment through his company for tax reasons. How much does it cost to force the sale and i am liable to pay half the mortgage payments.

Thanks Kerry

[Ethel]

It is extremely complicated but you ARE liable for the mortgage payments in the sense that if the mortgage isn't paid, the mortgage company would chase you as well as him for the money.

Why this wasn't sorted out during the divorce I have no idea. However, he has had benefit of the property since you separated and hasn't paid you rent. He will argue he has maintained the house and paid for the upkeep. Very much tit for tat.

I don't know how much it will cost you to go to court for an order of sale but I recommend you see a solicitor.

[kwalker5]

Hi again Ethel

It is very much my own fault for this not being sorted out before the divorce. He was refusing to sign the minute of agreement and was dragging the divorce out so in the end I just instructed the lawyer to get the divorce completed as My bill was almost �2,500 by that time.

Do you know if I'm quite within my right to refuse half of the payments? As had I known at the time I would never have been able to afford rent and mortgage payments, I have had no access to the house since I left., I left with mine and my daughters clothes we were wearing, I started from scratch.

I have been to a solicitor and she's requested he move out so the house can be put up for sale but he's not budging and said I can't expect him to leave his home. He's a very intimidating man and has threatened me in the oast and that is part of the reason I have left things for so long as I couldn't bare the grief and had to finish my degree at university whilst all this nonsense was going on.