House Sale Unfair if End Result the Same

An unusual divorce case has recently been heard by the Court of Appeal. It involved a divorced couple who were arguing about what should happen to their former matrimonial home. The court had ordered that it should be sold, on the basis that once it had been remortgaged to release the husband’s share, his ex-wife would not be able to afford the mortgage repayments. The court ordered that when the property was sold, the net proceeds, after discharging the mortgage, should be paid to the wife. In addition, she was to receive a payment of £100 per month until the property was sold and £300 per month thereafter.

The ex-wife wished to have the property transferred into her name, so appealed the decision. She claimed that she had received a mortgage offer with repayments of an amount she could afford and that selling the house and moving would prove disruptive for the couple’s children. She accepted that if in future she were unable to afford the mortgage payments, she would not be able to return to the court to seek an increase in the periodical payments from her ex-husband.

The Court of Appeal allowed her appeal. It judged that if she were unable to meet the mortgage payments, that failure would not prejudice her ex-husband and the outcome in that instance (her having to sell the house and move) would be the same in any event. It was fair to give her the opportunity to remain in the home.