Hello,
I'm sorry for the delay, I don't have computer access at work or time to use it. I'm a care worker on the minimum wage. To answer your questions,
The house is worth about £190k maybe a bit more. There is a Halifax mortgage on it of about £20k with about 5 years to run. My wife is 49 years old and currently paying the mortgage. There is a private trust loan from her mother's estate. It's supposed to be a trust for the children but was loaned to help purchase the house. She can live in the house without me but I could not live there without her without her or the trustees can call in the loan.
We have no other assets. Our children are 21 & 18 years of age. the oldest is at university and the younger one at sixth form college (I believe, I don't have any contact with them). My wife helped run up debts of £25k on credit cards in my name, she had spouse cards and refuses to make any contribution to the repayments. At least a year before she told me she wanted a divorce she had consulted a solicitor and yet continued to spend on the cards. It was for day to day family things. I have never asked for more than half the debts as I too used the cards. Whenever I told her I was concerned about the level of debt she simply replied that it would be sorted when she got a job. She works now as a school admin person, part time and term time only. She claims that she cannot afford to pay towards the debts or to buy me out of my share of the house. She proposes that she keep all the house, some of my pension and I keep all the debts! My pension is a local government final salary pension valued at about £140k with a projected annual pension of around £7k per year. I'm 55 this birthday and not going to be able to get or want a mortgage at my age. I will therefore have to find rent for the rest of my life. We will have been married for 30 years come this December and 5 years since we separated. I have earned around 16k this year before tax. I don't know what she has earned.
She has a boyfriend and co-habits with him in the family home and has done so since the separation, although she denies this! I have attempted to pay the debts for the last five years but am now being threatened with court action to recover the amounts. A debt management charity has recommended bankruptcy but I have also been advised to deal with the debts as part of the divorce. There is a loan for a conservatory at the house but of course I have no benefit from that. I am not contributing to either that or the mortgage at the current time, although it was all my savings that went into the house purchase. She claims to have other debts herself but the difference there is that I had no part in running those up.
I just want the matter concluded as quickly and painlessly as possible now. She has driven me to hell and back with this divorce but I now need to move on.
Many thanks.
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