What counts as oversea property?

– Bank accounts
– Investment properties
– Foreign trusts
– Retirement homes
– Second homes

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If you’re currently starting divorce proceedings and are concerned about property abroad and how it will be handled, look no further. We Buy Any House has put together this post for you to clear any concerns and let you in on a few important bits of information.

It’s really important that you fully disclose any property that you have got overseas, whether it’s shared or if it’s yours as separate property. If you don’t, there can be some big problems further into the proceedings-

• It can prolong the divorce process and therefore increase the costs throughout.
• It can negatively affect your case, and because of this, the size of the payment that you receive in the settlement.
• It can be ruled that hiding the assets is contempt of court and could end in a potential prison sentence.

So what counts as overseas property?

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a house to count as overseas property. Other forms of property include-

• Bank accounts
• Investment properties
• Foreign trusts
• Retirement homes
• Second homes

To make sure that you’re giving the correct information about these properties, you need to prove the values. This can be done in two ways.

You can either show documentation that prove the value of the property, such as bank statements, business records or invoices. These can sometimes be difficult to source, so there is a second option.

You can have your assets appraised to find their value. It’s usually best to use one neutral appraiser in a divorce to value assets from both sides. This tends to save money, which is always desirable for these sort of situations.

If the overseas property is a house, it can be difficult to get it valued, but you can either find an appraiser in the country of the house to visit and value if you don’t have any documentation to prove its value.

What’s the best way to proceed?

• Make a list of all of your assets and debts.
• Split them up into two categories; matrimonial or separate.

If any assets were gained before the marriage, or if they were kept solely in your name with no connection to your ex-partner in a separate account, they can be listed as separate property. Usually, these assets are kept out of the divorce procedure and so are not split. The assets that are listed as matrimonial will be any property that was bought during the marriage up until the point of separation and will be taken into consideration in the proceedings of the divorce.

The matrimonial property is usually split equally, however, there are some circumstances that may change this;

• Income and financial resources of each spouse
• Financial needs and responsibilities, such as children
• The age of each spouse and the length of the marriage
• Any disability, physical or mental
• The conduct of each spouse throughout the process- if one of you has failed to disclose property, for example, you may be penalised and get a lesser percentage.

You may choose to sell all property shared between you, both overseas and in the UK. If you’re looking for more information on selling your home and want to see what you could be offered, visit We Buy Any House today for your free offer. 

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