Not sure if any of you can help, but I am considering splitting from my OH, and I have thought about buying him out.  Is there anyone out there who has done this, and if so is it as easy as it sounds?  I'm sure it's not, but we are not at the stage yet to see solicitors and could do with some advice.

There are no children, so I believe it would be just a 50/50 split, unfortunately, even down to the dogs as I know I will not get Ellis, which breaks my heart.

Thanks in advance

Juliet

Go see a family law solicitor and talk things over. It can be an informal free advice session.  Each case can be different. Often people give examples of their situation and it often " appears" to be similar but something fundamental makes it different, which can be unnoticed by someone with no real legal experience. Family law is also very complicated.

Good luck though in whatever you decide to do. :-)

If you can agree as much as possible on an amicable basis without the help of a solicitor then start on that basis. From my experience (or rather my OH's because my ex doesn't know the meaning of the word "amicable) you'll need to get the house independently valued and then agree to split the equity 50/50. However, if you start getting into conversations along the lines of "but I put more of the deposit down/paid for most of the upkeep etc., then you'll need to take legal advice immediately.

Unfortunately things usually start by appearing straightforward and divorce itself is, theoretically, dead easy on a DIY basis (you can download the forms which come with very helpful guidance notes) but even the most reasonable people often find that splitting up tests their reasonability to the limit and that's when you need to get lawyers talking to lawyers.

Sorry to hear you have this to face though and especially losing one of the dogs in the process. :(