Yes I agree that its unlikely to be worth the hassle especially when you buy a house unless you have a big deposit half the time you owe as much as the house is worth if that makes sense.

Its a big risk to take I guess so you would need some legal advice. Like you said you are trying to improve the future for your children so you don't want anything to jepodise that and if your ex is anything like mine he couldn't care about hurting his daughter.