PROPERTY LAW
UNDER THE HAMMER
I put my house on the market after a court hearing with my ex-wife. There was another application to reduce the asking price, and now my ex-wife is applying for the house to be put up for sale by auction. Is there anything I can do to stop this? My wife is living with another man, falsely claims all benefits and has recently shared in a large bingo win. Your ex-wife’s current circumstances have little bearing on what was initially decided in court when you divided up your assets on divorce. If she is living with another man it may ultimately affect any maintenance payments you make; and when she receives her share of the proceeds from the sale of the house she may lose any entitlement to benefits she may have. If you wish to contest the application for your house to be sold at auction you should see a solicitor. Whether you will be successful will largely depend on how long it has been on the market, as well as how co-operative you have been with the estate agent and any potential purchasers or viewers.
STEPSONS’ CLAIM
My friend tells me that neither she nor her husband of 20 years has made a will. Her husband has two sons by a previous marriage and the house they live in is in his name only. In the event of her husband’s death, what claim would the stepchildren have on the estate? The wife would get all the chattels, the first £250,000 of the estate and half the remainder under intestacy rules. The stepsons would get the other half. However it is essential they make wills, since if their house is at all substantial it could well swallow up the wife’s ‘allowance,’ leaving her with a property in which she has only a part interest and no capital. Under those circumstances she could possibly apply for a larger share under the family provision legislation, but that would only add unnecessary complication and expense.
EVICTION THREAT
I am a council tenant and have got in arrears with my rent. The council is threatening to take me to court. I don’t have the money to pay them: is there anything I can do? You should contact the council to agree to pay off the arrears gradually over a period of months. It would be a good idea for you to get in touch with a solicitor or your local Citizens Advice Bureau for advice about how much you could afford to pay the council and what would be a realistic offer. If you do receive a court claim from the council you should seek legal advice from a solicitor straight away. It is often possible to avoid possession orders by agreeing repayment schedules with the council even where a court hearing is imminent.
GARAGE CLEAR-OUT
We left our car in a friend’s garage and were paying them ten pounds a week for a while. I then became unemployed and we didn’t pay anything for twelve months, during which time they sold the vehicle without telling us, even though they had our address and telephone number. Can we claim from them the value of the car? Yes. You should ask them to give you the money they received for the car with a deduction for the amount of rent you owed up to the time that the vehicle was sold. They had no right to sell the vehicle without your permission or without having given you notice of their intention to sell it. You will be able to claim back what was the market value of the car at the time it was sold.
»»Call Bromleys Solicitors LLP on 0161 330 6821 or visit www.bromleys. co.uk If you have any legal questions, write to Property Law, MEN Media, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton OL9 8EF, or email mail@ lawQs.co.uk