Hi Everyone,
I wonder if anyone can help me with what my legal rights are in relation to being transgender and having to leave the marital home. I must stress that I'm not wanting any advice on who's right or wrong just what I have a legal right to.
Background: As a result of an NHS foul up I was outed to my wife of thirty years last summer. We have a home which we jointly occupy with a mortgage due to finish in early 2013. She has said that she cannot cope in anyway with me being trans and she says I must leave the marital home as soon as I start going to a GIC. I am very concerned that I will not be able to afford to rent anywhere as we have some debts which I would not be able to service if I was paying to rent. The debts have been incurred to pay for home improvements and furniture and what she is calling 'a last holiday together' at Christmas. So what I would like to know is:
1) Can she ask me to leave our home because I am receiving treatment at a GIC?
2) Could I reasonably ask to stay until I have cleared the debts and built sufficient money to afford deposit, etc?
3) Can she ask for the following as the basis of a separation/divorce settlement because I am trans? To stay in the house for as long as she wishes; for me to pay her half my income; and; half my pension on my reaching retirement age?
I'd be grateful for any advice or someone who can advise me about this as it is preying on my mind a great deal.
Nell
Hiya Nel.
Firstly sorry to hear about your troubles.
You have the same rights as anyone else going through the trauma of a divorce.
I am not an expert on property law. or settlement.
It all depends on how pedantic you want to be, You are entitled to 50% of any equity in the property upon sale, after other joint debts have been taken into account. That means sell the house, pay of the debts (which if invested in the property are jointly and severally the responsability of both of you)
Ideally you remain in the house, but there might be a sense of acrimony and resentment I don't know the ages involved, but one option would be, your wife raise a mortgage taking into account the equity, the mortgage being about to be settled, so should be sufficient equity for her to buy your share out of an equity release or if she can prove she can make the payments.
The courts should look more favourably on your circumstances, its not as if your a drunk, a wife beater, a philanderer.
Regarding a government pension, I am lead to believe that its a personal pension and based on your contributions and not divisable if your seperated or divorced..depending on you DOB a pension might be payable at the age of 60 on your reciept of a GRC.
Had you no plans as to what might happen when you transitioned fully?
You seriously need some proffesional legal advice.
loadsa love Cristine
It is correct to say that marriage doesn't change anything about the way property is held. What marriage does affect, however, is the way property is treated when a couple splits up. When a married couple separates, all property - whether jointly owned or not - goes into one big pot of "marital assets" to be divided up according to what the couple (and their lawyers) agree is fair.
When an unmarried couple go their separate ways, only property to which both partners made a financial contribution is automatically included when deciding how to share out the finances. And the shares in the property will be determined by what it says on the Land Registry. If you hold property as joint tenants, it is assumed the split will be 50/50, as it will be if you hold property as tenants in common in equal shares. If you have registered a different split as tenants in common, with unequal shares of 60% and 40% for example, then you'll get whatever share belongs to you.
The key difference between being joint tenants and tenants in common is what happens if either owner dies. With a joint tenancy, both owners own the whole property so when one dies, the property automatically passes to the other joint owner.
With tenants in common, each joint owner owns a distinct share in the property. This distinct share can be left to anyone on death, so the other owner will only inherit the remaining share if the person who dies has drawn up a will which leaves his or her share in the property to the surviving owner.