Protecting your house from future Girlfriend

AbbieCadabra · 21 November 2010 at 11:05AM

i think it's a very valid question to be asking. you might think you know someone, but where money/possessions & what they perceive as 'their rights' are involved, they can sure surprise you!

different circumstances to what the OP has asked, but someone i know is going thru a very messy seperation at the moment. they'd been together 2 years, bought a house at the beginning of this year & got engaged a few months later (wedding planned for 2 years time) - it's all been downhill from there!

the demands & behaviour from the ex-girlfriend & her family have been truly :eek:, i have no idea how anyone can behave the way they have! she was paying perhaps 30% towards the monthly bills but yet seems to think she's owed £1000's (never mind that the house was a new build, 100% mortgage & very likely to be in negative equity already...)

CIS · 21 November 2010 at 11:20AM

To be on the safe side pay all of the Council Tax yourself

If the plan is to keep her name off the council tax bill then it wont work.A resident partner is jointly liable and needs to be shown on the bill as such - calling her a lodger wouldn't alter this.

Person_one · 21 November 2010 at 11:23AM

AbbieCadabra wrote: »

i think it's a very valid question to be asking. you might think you know someone, but where money/possessions & what they perceive as 'their rights' are involved, they can sure surprise you!

But the OP doesn't know someone! He's not even dating this potential future possible coveter of his assets yet, she's purely hypothetical!

I just find it bizarre to be planning all this while single, at what point in the relationship is he going to tell a new partner that he's planned out their moving in and break up? Funnily enough, she might have a life of her own before and independently of him and might actually want a say in the process.

I'm currently single, just bought a property on my own. I'm not even thinking about what will happen if I meet someone because partners don't just come along packaged and ready to be delivered into your flat and then taken away when you don't want them anymore! You have to make decisions (together, as a partnership) based on the actual situation when it happens.

AbbieCadabra · 21 November 2010 at 11:26AM

i don't get the impression he's planning anything, just gathering information for 'what if'...

Wee_Willy_Harris · 21 November 2010 at 11:44AM

Person_one wrote: »

partners don't just come along packaged and ready to be delivered into your flat and then taken away when you don't want them anymore!

I refer you to my earlier suggestion of the "hourly paid" option.

Gwhiz · 21 November 2010 at 12:11PM

If you worry too much about your future you will fail to enjoy the present.

Never make decisions purely to to save or protect your finances. They tend to reduce your chances to be happy.

BitterAndTwisted · 21 November 2010 at 12:18PM

CIS wrote: »

If the plan is to keep her name off the council tax bill then it won't work. A resident partner is jointly liable and needs to be shown on the bill as such - calling her a lodger wouldn't alter this.

I wasn't suggesting that the OP kept any future g/f's name off the C Tax bill. Having someone living with you would mean you lose the 25% single occupancy discount, so it would be fair to expect them to pay that plus 50% of any utility and food bills.

As I said before it would need to be absolutely crystal-clear that the live-in partner was making no payment which could be construed later as a contribution towards the mortgage. Having someone pay a lot less than 50% of all outgoings excluding the mortgage would be pretty compelling should there be a dispute later.

muskoka · 21 November 2010 at 1:47PM

I think this question is highly relevant. Unfortunately, these days you have to be careful of what you already have, against what your partner has - relationships do on occasions not work out. Nothing wrong with checking it out & Being prepared for the eventuality of the relationship not working.

As a mum, I need to ensure that my child's inheritance stays intact, not divied off to some step-children, etc, etc Same difference

RealButter · 21 November 2010 at 3:49PM

Why would you split everything 50/50 with her if she was just a girlfriend? If you want to avoid that it's simple: don't get married :rotfl:

caeler · 21 November 2010 at 4:10PM

I can't believe OP is getting such a hard time! Unfortunately I've been badly treated in the past and this has made me some what more cautious and a little bit bitter so I think the things OP has had the courage to post.