if you own your own house or houses ....

Deals_2

and your new partner moves in and has nothing (and actually debts) should he be entitled to your house or assets...just thought would start a debate on it and see...what thoughts are ...thanks

hot.chick

absolutly not!

If you decide to get married however, that may be a diff story....

I had an ex and he had horrific debts, when we split he didn't even attempt to go for any of the house, a solicitor said he wasn't entitled anyway, I had a consultation for my own piece of mind.

I am now married and hubby didn't have a porperty and had a few debts, but we are married and have worked on the debts together, and if we move the new house will go into joint names and will be considered a joint asset, we are in it together for the long haul.

Interested in what other people think

BitterAndTwisted

Entitlement only begins when contributions are made. This is a very good reason to not accept a penny from the other person which could construed as them paying rent. Half of food and utility bills and council tax is OK, rent not OK.

Counting_Pennies_2

I would get the house valued, and work out what the contributions are you have made to the mortgage so you know what the starting point is when the person joins you.

That way if they start contributing to the household income you can protect where you started.

One way of putting that in writing is having a living together agreement.

When my now DH (then boyfriend, now husband) and I got out first house together, we signed a living together agreement that our solicitor put together. Stating the amount we were each putting in, the percentage we were putting in to the mortgage each. The percentage we were each going to put into the household bills and if we split what we would do. That way it is all written in a rational manner so if you do ever get to an irrational stage it is all written down and both parties know where they stand.

hth

Tropez

I own my own home with no mortgage. My partner moved in earlier this year. She contributes to some of the running costs of the home and lets out her own property to contribute to her income but I wouldn't charge her rent or anything like that.

I wouldn't regard her as having an actual claim to the home but I'm also hoping that would never become an issue anyway because I'm hoping she never see's the light and leaves me!

brians_daughter

Deals wrote: »

and your new partner moves in and has nothing (and actually debts) should he be entitled to your house or assets...just thought would start a debate on it and see...what thoughts are ...thanks

Depends, if you have started to live with a person as man and wife and have done for many years then they must have contributed something - if not financial then maybe practical ie DIY, looking after the children etc. However, if you are talking a relatively short relationship then no they shouldnt be.

TBH i learnt the hard way 12 years ago with my ex. This time round my partner and i got everything legally documented with 2 yearly reviews. ie when we met i earned twice what he did and i had a house worth £200k with a mortgage of 100k so i wanted to protect mine and my childrens assets.

Fast forward 10 years i havent worked in such a great job whilst he has been free to dedicate himself to his career as i have been studying and staying at home with the children so now what we have is 'ours' legally.Hes worked hard to pay our mortgage down and i see what was my house as ours house, and if we did split i would be honouring this notion regardless of circumstance. But thats what a long term relationship is all about

Deals_2

thanks for your input in meantime.

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Entitlement only begins when contributions are made. This is a very good reason to not accept a penny from the other person which could construed as them paying rent. Half of food and utility bills and council tax is OK, rent not OK.

Deals_2

must look into this.

Counting_Pennies wrote: »

I would get the house valued, and work out what the contributions are you have made to the mortgage so you know what the starting point is when the person joins you.

That way if they start contributing to the household income you can protect where you started.

One way of putting that in writing is having a living together agreement.

When my now DH (then boyfriend, now husband) and I got out first house together, we signed a living together agreement that our solicitor put together. Stating the amount we were each putting in, the percentage we were putting in to the mortgage each. The percentage we were each going to put into the household bills and if we split what we would do. That way it is all written in a rational manner so if you do ever get to an irrational stage it is all written down and both parties know where they stand.

hth

BitterAndTwisted

What was it about my post that you didn't understand? I thought I'd made myself quite clear so apologies if I did not.

Half of food and utility bills and council tax would be expenses a person would expect to make wherever they lived, so are not deemed as making a contribution towards the property, especially if they never paid for DIY materials or did the DIY work either.

gratefulforhelp_2

Often the way it seems to work is when people first move in to another's house, they pay their own way but don't pay rent, I was advised by my solicitor to acccept "invisible" contributions, e.g. they pay for the groceries, you pay for everything else.

In time, as you become a committed (or more committed) couple, then you split the finances half and half(or whatever you agreee) and then comes some entitlement to some of the equity, if any.

From the person moving in's point of view, if you live in someone else's house for ten years and pay rent, but have no entitlement to any equity, would it be fair as you would miss out on the potential investment of owning property?

BlueAngelCV

No way!
I was in a similar situation (I was the no money/lots of debt half of the partnership).
We created & signed a detailed co-habitation agreement setting out exactly what each of us was entitled to & what money was to go towards etc.
I'm currently paying my partner rent, this goes towards food & bills but gets me no share in the house. If/when I start making a more substantial contribution and/or we get married or have children then the house will be split depending on what we have put into it.