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Husband wants to sell the formal marital home and made me sign over my share to him: will the agreement be binding?
I have been married for 29 years and worked throughout the relationship. Four years ago I left my husband for another man taking our twelve year old son with me. Our 13 year old and 15 year old daughters stayed with him. It was an emotional time and my new partner had a house of his own, his wife having died. No formal financial agreements were reached but my husband presented me with a document he had had his solicitor prepare a year after we separated. He had solely paid the mortgage then for a year and said he would only continue to do so if I signed the house over to him. He said he would refuse to pay the mortgage unless he signed and that might leave the girls homeless. Like an idiot I signed it. Our younger daughter is now almost eighteen and planning to leave home and tells me he is planning to sell the house. Do I have any claim against the value of the house even though I signed the agreement? Would my position be stronger if I divorced him? He has never paid any maintenance for our son or indeed any money of any kind...
Firstly you need to ascertain exactly what it was you have signed as this will affect the advice. For instance if you have signed a transfer deed you need to take immediate action to register your potential interest as your husband can sell the property from under you.
You may have signed a deed of separation but if you did until you sign the transfer document then you would remain joint owners. You could have signed something entirely different. In the absence of an agreement commencing divorce proceedings will enable the court to intervene. If you signed a deed of separation then in the first instance the court can be asked to determine whether the deed is binding and as it does not seem to have been a freely negotiated bargain there is argument to say it should not be.
In short you need to seek urgent advice.
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