Advice for a friend

[Aircooled]

Hi just need to pick some brains if possible. My close friend has been involved with divorcing her ex husband , now the re are various issues the property she has is in her maiden name and decided to put the property up for sale as he has claimed title on it . He randomly moves back in and has become abusive and physical towards her this has resulted in her fleeing the property to friends . It has transpired the mortgage was not paid for a period of time and the money banked separately this is now leading to repossession off which she does not want. What I would like to know is how if at all possible she could remove him from said property and change the locks and also try and at least rescue the house off which she has invested a large sum of money into. I know it's clutching at straws but I really don't want to see her loose what she has worked hard for through no fault off her own.. The title deeds are in her maiden name .. Thanks

[Openlaw15]

Re: Advice for a friend

Hi just need to pick some brains if possible. My close friend has been involved with divorcing her ex husband , now the re are various issues the property she has is in her maiden name and decided to put the property up for sale as he has claimed title on it . He randomly moves back in and has become abusive and physical towards her this has resulted in her fleeing the property to friends . It has transpired the mortgage was not paid for a period of time and the money banked separately this is now leading to repossession off which she does not want. What I would like to know is how if at all possible she could remove him from said property and change the locks and also try and at least rescue the house off which she has invested a large sum of money into. I know it's clutching at straws but I really don't want to see her loose what she has worked hard for through no fault off her own.. The title deeds are in her maiden name .. Thanks

Hello Air-cooled, sorry to hear of your friend's situation.

Injunction/ protection order

She could apply for a non molestation order (NMO) from the court. https://www.gov.uk/injunction-domest...e/how-to-apply Said order has the effect of a block (an injunction) on any contact with her or the children (if they have any) if they're named on the order. She should also report the abuse to the police if she hasn't done so already. She could say the husband posed a serious threat in the past and is likely to in the future, insofar as he has been physical to her? Define physical, is it rape or sexual assault in marriage or is it physical violence towards her or the children (if there are any). Please fill in the blanks.

Repossession - the bank

The mortgage is a different issue but the law is generally she has the right to pay the mortgage off (beneficial rights). How much are the arrears of the mortgage payments? Is the mortgage in joint names, ie her and the husbands? If she were to die now where the property (ie family home) is in joint names ie her husband too) any Will she has doesn't matter. The property still passes to her husband (assuming it's in joint names). The remedy to this problem is to terminate the joint tenancy, this can be done by providing the husband (the other trustee as in law the property is held on trust so it creates trustees) with a severance of the joint tenancy. In your case have you friend send this severance note by recorded delivery to her own home. This will be an adequate severance for legal purposes. Alternatively you can ask a lawyer to do it but it'll obviously cost perhaps 30 minutes work at their legal rates of pay, or the full hour whatever.

The bank has the power to possess the property and usually applies for a court order of possession first. If there is a good amount of equity in property the court is unlikely to give the bank possession, ie she will not be repossessed. What actions has she taken so far to make payments to the mortgage.

Divorce

If the divorce goes through the husband is entitled to half of everything unless she can prove that she has paid more.

[Aircooled]

Re: Advice for a friend

Hello Air-cooled, sorry to hear of your friend's situation.

Injunction/ protection order

She could apply for a non molestation order (NMO) from the court. https://www.gov.uk/injunction-domest...e/how-to-apply Said order has the effect of a block (an injunction) on any contact with her or the children (if they have any) if they're named on the order. She should also report the abuse to the police if she hasn't done so already. She could say the husband posed a serious threat in the past and is likely to in the future, insofar as he has been physical to her? Define physical, is it rape or sexual assault in marriage or is it physical violence towards her or the children (if there are any). Please fill in the blanks.

Repossession - the bank

The mortgage is a different issue but the law is generally she has the right to pay the mortgage off (beneficial rights). How much are the arrears of the mortgage payments? Is the mortgage in joint names, ie her and the husbands? If she were to die now where the property (ie family home) is in joint names ie her husband too) any Will she has doesn't matter. The property still passes to her husband (assuming it's in joint names). The remedy to this problem is to terminate the joint tenancy, this can be done by providing the husband (the other trustee as in law the property is held on trust so it creates trustees) with a severance of the joint tenancy. In your case have you friend send this severance note by recorded delivery to her own home. This will be an adequate severance for legal purposes. Alternatively you can ask a lawyer to do it but it'll obviously cost perhaps 30 minutes work at their legal rates of pay, or the full hour whatever.

The bank has the power to possess the property and usually applies for a court order of possession first. If there is a good amount of equity in property the court is unlikely to give the bank possession, ie she will not be repossessed. What actions has she taken so far to make payments to the mortgage.

Divorce

If the divorce goes through the husband is entitled to half of everything unless she can prove that she has paid more.

Hi the assault was physical nothing else but has been as mental abuse.there are no children involved and the capital invested is in excess off 100k from inheritance on her side .

The mortgage as it stands and deed are in her maiden name it as purchased before they were married.

[Openlaw15]

Re: Advice for a friend

Hi the assault was physical nothing else but has been as mental abuse.there are no children involved and the capital invested is in excess off 100k from inheritance on her side .

The mortgage as it stands and deed are in her maiden name it as purchased before they were married.

Ok thanks I have given you the options.

[Kati]

Re: Advice for a friend

I'll tag [MENTION=15129]Crazy council[/MENTION] [MENTION=8640]leclerc[/MENTION] and [MENTION=39710]des8[/MENTION] too (maybe they could offer more advice, or know who could) xx

[Crazy council]

Re: Advice for a friend

Hi

Re - the property,

To save things, initially ( like this month );
pay at least the interest plus an ammount extra. or
pay the normal months worth plus 10%

ie, if you can afford it on current income, pay it, plus a little over/extra
If you cant really afford the full amount each month, do a full income expenditure ( be honest and provide bank statements and bills ) and send it to them and pay what can be afforded

but most importantly, notify the mortgagee co that you intent to keep the property. |They may say that the only way they can do that is pay all the arrears ( no necessarily true ) ,

There are a number of things to consider in working out the other persons entitlement ( if any ), to the property, like

amount the contributed towards bills and lifestyle during occupation
amount they initially put in ( not in this case )

Its a crappy thing to deal with but its usually quite fair, the other person will get out more or less, what they put in, plus a share of any increase or loss in value, minus normal living costs. Its not just about money put in, its about maintenance done and children ( not applicable here )

[wales01man]

Re: Advice for a friend

At what stage are repossession proceedings?

[des8]

Re: Advice for a friend

You said the mortgage was unpaid for a period (how long) but the money was banked separately.

What exactly lies behind that final clause?
Who supplied the money?
who paid it into a separate account?
In whose name was that account?
Is that money still there?

[Openlaw15]

Re: Advice for a friend

Hi the assault was physical nothing else but has been as mental abuse.there are no children involved and the capital invested is in excess off 100k from inheritance on her side .

The mortgage as it stands and deed are in her maiden name it as purchased before they were married.

Hello, Air-cooled

Property

The mortgage/ property deeds are in your friend's name. What this means generally, her partner only has a claim to any thing including property that she has acquired during the marriage. However depending on how long your friend been married to her he may have some financial interest in the property, constructively. Is a divorce going through now? Perhaps your friend should come to this website and read this thread as you're not providing any specific details to any questions asked.

About the mortgage, how much are the arrears? How has the husband claimed title to the property? If the property is not in his name he simply does not have title unless his name was later put on the property's deeds (ie title, ie legal interest).

Family law

Occupation order

My advice is for your friend to contact a family law solicitor. Call the law society and ask for the name of family law solicitor who specialises in domestic abuse. Your friend could get an occupation order: section 33, Family law Act 1996 (FLA), against her husband as it is assumed he has an interest in their home/ property. If successful it could be used to force him out of the property: s.33, FLA.

Injunction/ criminal assault/ battery

Criminal attacks of the nature you describe likely entail assault and battery. Assault entails where a person at least threatens another in an aggressive manner, ie fists raised where the other likely feels an actual strike is imminent. Battery is when said assault leads to an actual physical strike, ie a punch, a kick, a slap. Bodily harm is where some type of injury occurs (Actual Bodily Harm, ie ABH) as result of the battery. When you say it was physical, you're alluding it was not sexual. Ok, was it a punch, a slap, was she beaten up, you're just not providing enough information.

Injunction/ protection order

Contact the family law solicitor about this too.

It may be better for your friend to come here and answer the questions. However, assuming there were real threats of violence or a history of violence it's likely she could get a non molestation order: section 42, Family Law Act 1996 . On the facts he appears to not live at the property as you say 'he randomly moves back in.' Her husband however has the right to challenge it. Again, were these physical assaults reported to the police, did the police make a record, were there any criminal convictions? If she has evidence of this nature it's likely she will have sufficient evidence for a successful non molestation order.