Protecting your house from future Girlfriend

BitterAndTwisted

Have you ever tried suggesting to a loved-up g/f when proposing they move in with you to sign a ruddy lodgers agreement?

Wee_Willy_Harris

Coeus wrote: »

Again I think you missed the legally identifiable relationship of a rental agreement (in form of lodgement or tenancy).

Have you ever rented? Even if not, would you say that if your 'landlord' were to use some of the rent you have paid directly to his bank account for the mortgage on the same property entirely in his name - that you have a legal entitlement to part of the property? I would expect not and it is no different for co-habiting individuals as long as an legally recognised agreement exists such as the mentioned lodgement or tenancy agreement.

This is why it is very important and widely accepted that a clear paper trail identifying (i) paying of rent in accordance to said agreement and (ii) clear responsibility of due payment of mortgage/council tax from his INDIVIDUAL bank account is critical in court for establishing any part-ownership.

All well and good, but he wants a girlfriend and all the trappings that entails, not a lodger in the next room while he amuses himself.

thewinkshow

Coeus - many thanks for the info, finally getting somewere, some seem be painting a picture of me as a sinister selfish prostitute loving pig
some seemed to be missing the point.

rozzepozze - thats why I am concerned, some say if your not married then she could not make a claim, the in the same breath others say IT is possible to make a claim even if we are not married, only one can be true or there must be some grey area, either she can, or cannot.

let me make my situation a bit more clear, If I met someone I would have zero problems splitting absolutely everything we acquired during our time together 50% straight down the middle, including any increase in the value of the house -because we both contributed to this during our time together.from day we met to us ending the relationship is 50/50 what I had before that is mine.
my point/issue, is I would want assurances that before this 50% split on everything that my initial 40k deposit from my granddad was automatically allocated back to me, then we split the rest 50% down the middle. I think this is fair, as I had the 40k before I even met her.
of course once kids and marriage get involved then it changes everything and my number 1 priority would be making sure my child had enough.but I dont plan on getting married or having kids for a good few years.

bristol_pilot

I think the OP has a valid concern. Whilst there is no such thing as a 'common law wife', girlfriends can be deemed to have contributed to a house just by living in it, or by paying towards household bills. If she loses her job and consequently sits around the house all day eating chocolate and watching daytime TV, there is a risk of a claim that she gave up her career to support you in yours. The biggest threat though is possible future legislation that might be applied retrospectively to enable the gold-diggers to grab an even bigger share of someone's house than they currenlty can.

What I think would protect the OP is 'living apart together' (LAT) - the girlfriend maintains and pays for her own property totally separately. You can...er...commute, rather than form a household in common. Of course you need to find a gf who is up for this and is capable and willing to make her own living - and those gems are not the gold diggers anyway.

I have always made it clear in any relationship from the outset that I do not and will not offer financial support. Plenty of people b*gger off at this point but at least you know where you stand. The remaining ones are the sincere ones and the ones that make good partners anyway.

C_Mababejive

Perhaps this is the answer for many men?

When it starts talking lawyers and claims,just pull its bung out..!

thewinkshow

but does her contribution claim apply if I was managing to pay for everything just fine before we met?
not a nice subject to talk about I know, but I imagine there are many people like my friend who wish they had a thought about and prepared these things instead of getting stung.least everyone knows where they stand from the outset.

Coeus

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

All well and good, but he wants a girlfriend and all the trappings that entails, not a lodger in the next room while he amuses himself.

That is his decision to make - I was not aware that you were able to speak for him.

He wanted advice on the legalities of protecting his assets, not judgement. I do not, nor do I propose that anyone else should, cast judgement on others without knowing them. A few posts do not paint a person.

thewinkshow wrote: »

Coeus - many thanks for the info, finally getting somewere, some seem be painting a picture of me as a sinister selfish prostitute loving pig
some seemed to be missing the point.

You are welcome and I agree. As mentioned above people should keep their judgements to themselves, especially if not asked for them.

Wee_Willy_Harris

Coeus wrote: »

That is his decision to make - I was not aware that you were able to speak for him.

He wanted advice on the legalities of protecting his assets, not judgement. I do not, nor do I propose that anyone else should, cast judgement on others without knowing them. A few posts do not paint a person.

If you read the OPs question, it was about a co-habiting girlfriend, not a lodger. Surprised you didn't notice.

kmmr

My partner pays for half of the mortgage interest - while I pay the other half and the principal repayment. And we split the bills. My assumption was that interest was like a 'bill' as its a cost of living in the house.

Would that be considered as him developing an interest in the house from a legal point of view? I bought the house last year, and paid for some recent massive renovations. We have both had problems in the past untangling ourselves from houses which were bought with other people, so I am keen to keep the house as 'mine' if things do go pear shaped.

Should I write up some kind of rental agreement to be clear?

clutton_2

i think it is an incredibly sensible idea to investigate the possibilities... and not only for the young.. many middle aged folks divorce and end up with assets which they could lose if a poor future partner made a claim

OP- ignore the neg-heads.... i expect they are jealous of your position