FAQs

Going through a divorce/separation can be very stressful. Getting a new mortgage, whether this is to buy out a partner, or to move into a new home is possible, albeit a little more complicated depending on your status (both current and future). 

Lenders will need to understand your current financial position (inclusive of children, unsecured loans, savings etc) and what your future financial position post separation will look like. 

We would recommend speaking with our team of specialist, independent mortgage advisers who provide you with advice and support in the most simplified way before, during and after the conclusion of divorce proceedings.

Yes – a joint mortgage can be separated if you are getting divorced, however it cant be split in half. There are many options that can include you buying a partner our, or a partner buying you out. 

You may also be able to port your mortgage (as a result of a house sale), onto a new property in your own name. This will depend on your lender, your financial position pre/post-divorce inclusive any ongoing maintenance/divorce agreement.

Possibly – this will depend on a number of financial factors that we have touched on above. You may hear this referred to as a transfer or title, or transfer of equity and will form part of the overall financial settlement agreement should you wish to retain the property. 

You will need to prove that you can afford the mortgage commitment in your own name post divorce. If you haven’t already gone through this with your mediator/solicitor during the proceedings, our team of specialist advisers can look your affordability and recommend the best way for you to proceed. 

Our team are also experienced at producing Mortgage Capacity Reports for the Courts in order to be able to assist with the fair allocation of assets during proceedings.

Your income may be enough to service a mortgage on your own post separation/divorce. In order to provide you with advice on this specific area, our team of mortgage advisers would need to take into account factors such as;

• Your basic income (plus any regular bonus – evidence for a minimum 2 year period)
• Your proposed household expenditure 
• The cost of any ongoing debt payments (personal loans/car, credit cards, student loans etc)

We will also need to understand whether there will be any ongoing commitments post-divorce in terms of maintained to a former spouse along with any shared child care costs (nursery/school fees etc). 

Once we have assessed this, we will be able to provide you with an approximate borrowing figure that can help you factor in the type of property you can afford. 

Getting the best possible advice during a separation/divorce is very important. We would always recommend that you initiate contact with a specialist mediator that will in turn recommend a suitable solicitor and Independent Financial Adviser, such as “The Divorce IFA” for example. 

Having specialist people can help;

• Explain how the mortgage is treated in a divorce
• Help negotiate who keeps the home (if anyone)
• Make sure any agreement is legal binding

Having the above professionals around you to look at the big picture in terms of current and future finances can make a big difference to you. 

There is your mortgage to consider, but also potentially savings, pensions & investments and debts that will have to be factored into any future settlement agreement. 

Our specialist team of mortgage advisers work with industry professionals (such as The Divorce IFA and specialist solicitors) in order to be able to provide you with the very best support

Yes it can. But some providers insist that you receive financial advice before they will allow the pension share to be paid in. If you can confirm the details of the schemes and the amounts involved I will be able to guide you further.

Yes, it should have been sent from the court. I would ask for a copy and send it directly. In addition, I would speak to your ex and ensure that he has completed the necessary paperwork for the NHS. One final thing might be that the implementation fee is outstanding. The pension sharing order will confirm how much each of you needs to pay.

Yes, I would expect it to be considered in the financial settlement like all the other assets and income. How much it might be shared by will depend upon the facts, circumstances and needs of the parties / marriage.

It is not possible to use the whole of the pension share on divorce to purchase a home. It cannot be released for cash 100% and it is not possible to buy a house within a pension.

It is possible to take a pension commencement lump sum of up to 25% of the cash equivalent. You will need to be age 55 or over to do so.

Therefore, if you need cash for a house you may wish to negotiate to offset your share of the pension cash equivalent against house equity or any other assets. Be mindful of your income needs in retirement though.

In theory they are in contempt of a court order. But invariably there is no funny stuff going on in these situations. Usually there is a good reason why the pension has not been implemented in a timely manner. Common reasons are:

Court paperwork missing, incomplete or incorrect.
Outstanding charges
No indication of where the pension share is to be transferred.

In truth there can be a number of reasons why. I would speak to the pension scheme involved and find out what is happening.

Partly correct. Actually the state retirement pension is made up of two parts. The first part is the basic state pension and this cannot be shared. However, it is possibly for your ex spouse to substitute your records for theirs if this gives them a better pension figure. There is no cost to either party in doing this.

The second part is known as second state pension and this can be shared. Form BR 20 provides the cash equivalent which can be used in any pension sharing negotiations.

If you agree to pension sharing and a part of the pension is transferred into your name then you will not lose the pension rights on remarriage nor should he die.