buying a home with new partner but not yet divorced

Hi, I have separated from my wife for approximately 25 months and we have lived apart for 22 months. We have a three year old daughter together. We sold our family home two years ago and divided the money equally. My wife has bought her own property which she lives in with our daughter. I am renting a flat. We live in different areas about 1 1/2 hour away. I see my daughter every weekend, either for one 1/2 day or for the whole weekend where she stays with me and my sisters home.

I want to move closer to her and am considering buying a property with my new girlfriend, however i am not yet divorced. I want to know whether buying a home with my new girlfriend before divorce is a sensible decision to make. We have found a property we really like which is closer to my daughter and also to my family..


My daughter has not met my girlfriend and my ex is still incredibly angry and upset with the situation we are in.

I want to move forward and to be more actively involved in my daughters life. I have mentioned the prospect of divorce to my ex and we are still struggling to deal with the conversation especially now with the lockdown.

I am finding it difficult to know what to do

Most people would advise getting divorced and a Clean Break order in place to separate your finances before buying with a partner.

You may have divided the money equally at the time of the sale but your ex may decide she wants a bigger portion of it if you are able to share costs with a new partner.

If you buy property now your ex might try to claim a right to the equity you have placed in the new home... wait until you are divorced and have a clean break order in place before buying.