It is very common for married couples to take on a joint mortgage on their home but if a marriage ends in divorce it isn’t easy to make a clean break when the lender still expects payments to be kept up as before.
Attempting to negotiate a way out of a joint mortgage will of course depend on individual circumstances. Also, if there are children involved, things can get even more complicated particularly if the couple relied on each other’s incomes to be able to afford a mortgage in the first place.
Then there are cases where the partner who has custody of the children cannot afford repayments on their own when they either work part time or they care for the children full time. In these cases the hope is that a former spouse will continue to make the mortgage payments even if they no longer live in the property.
This however is asking a lot when that person will wish to move on with life after the marriage has ended.
If you are the person left in a property unable to make the mortgage payments if your former partner refuses to pay their half, then you can contact your local Citizens Advice about potential benefits you may be able to receive.
If you do have sufficient funds to cover the mortgage then you may be able to have the mortgage transferred to you as part of a clean break divorce by consent.