financial settlement - should I agree to this?

Hi
I am at the NISI stage (Mar 2022 - started Mar 2021!) and looking now at a financial Consent Order/deal.
The wife is not keen to go to court and wants to offer the following deal. ..
Pay me a 185K lump sum and I transfer the FMH to her and she keeps the shares. Pensions off the table

I did offer to buy her out of the FMH but she said NO
I did say sell the FMH but she said NO as she wants to live there as it is convenient for work and new boyfriend

Me 59 (health issue - heart bypass 2019). Planned to retire in 2-3 yrs but maybe not now! 60Kpa
Wife 50 (health OK) 20Kpa
Married since 1997
House (4 bed double garage detached) Equity 500K
My Pension 367K
Wife Pension 12K
Wife has shares worth 90K (were mine before the marriage but I transferred them to her in 2001 for tax purposes)

We have 2 Kids - one 21 finishing UNI this year and one just turned 18 and plans a 3yrs UNI course in Oct
False Non-Mol charge looking back was to get me out of the house and have the kids live with her. No fault found)
The kids decided to live with me and I moved out anyway (not happy renting though) but it safer because of Non-Mol)

So take the deal OR fight in the courts for a better outcome?
I am thinking I have not long to go to retire health scare/or not, plus for the next 5 years I expect to be providing shelter and maintenance for kids

If I do go to court it is likely I will represent myself AND use WIKI for a barrister as required.

Thanks

I think you should get legal advice from a solicitor who has all the figures in front of them. You can book a fixed price legal financial consultation via this site.

Hadenoughnow

It’s better than 50:50 in your favour and you earn three times what she does.

How do you feel about it?

How much more do you want and how much time, money and mental energy are you prepared to spend chasing it?

Hi
I thought I replied to this ..sorry
OK I understand what you say but this is my dilemma
Option 1
Take the offer but with 185K cash I need to take out a 170K mortgage to get a 3-bed replacement home for me and the kids. I need to buy and furnish. I am really worried about taking out such a heft loan this late in life. Not sure how long I can work for - my health could be an issue or they might let me go! Having 350K in a pension well, don't know how much income that will be but I suspect it will be struggle to service the debt and live!
Option 2
Fight for half the house (as what is going to do in a 4bed detatched on her own!) which is 250K and 50K for the shares which means I have 300K deposit . This means I can take out a smaller more manageable loan. Yes I lose half my pension but what good is a pension if I have no house or a house with a massive debt.

It will cost me 20K to fight and there is no certainly I will be able to enforce a sale as I know she will be obstructive so that can take 2-3yrs even if I get a judge to sign in the end. So that is 20K court costs ad 3yrs rent which is 45K

I only have chance at this I need to make the right call
Kind Regards

Your children won't be considered as part of your needs (the one at uni may be but maybe not) as they are adults.
So the court will more than likely say you both only 'need' a 1-2 bed property and anything above that is a 'want' which will need funding by each of you.
As you say - if it goes to court all assets will count, including your pension, which your wife will get a share of and the shares - as well as the house and anything else. If your wife earns considerably less than you she could argue her needs are greater than yours.
It may also cost you more than 20k to fight. My other half's bill is £15,000 before FDR and that was with him being an LIP for most of it. His ex has already totted up £28,000 (mostly because she's obstructive and wants to drag it out as she thinks she's the weaker party so can't lose). It's already gone on for 3.5 years!
Also expert reports cost an absolute fortune for pensions and other assets.
Tough call, but weigh up the stress and cost vs the potential losses, your health and moving onto freedom!
Good luck!

If you self represent and use a direct access barrister where needed it will cost a small fraction of the amount you are quoting. You can get support via the divorce consultant service. Give the helpline a call.

Really thanks for your input as I can only make assumptions on how I think things will play out so it is good to get real life examples.
My son finishes UNI this year (no job in the pipeline) so will have to stay with me and of course my daughter goes off to UNI so she comes home non-term time. That means I need a 3 bed so I would be really miffed if the courts thought otherwise after all kids/young adults welfare should come first. My life has been about supporting my kids so I am not going to stop now even if the courts think we should throw them on the street when they are 18
About the time it takes ....well, you have confirmed my worst fears (3.5yrs!) and as my Mrs does not care about how the kids and I are living (renting living out of suitcases) so she will delay and delay as the status Quo suits her.
Sounds to me fighting maybe not be the best option even if the costs can be controlled (but I still think 15K min) on emotional/health grounds alone.
I need to move on and not get caught up in years of negativity
Everything has a price I guess.