Common Law Splitting Up of Propery

paddy's_mum

elenaworld wrote: »

To be quite honest I have no idea what the details is of what we are covered for in the insurance, I know if one of dies it goes to the other.

For your own protection, you simply must find or get all the paperwork together before you go along to see your chosen solicitor.

Deeds, mortgage, insurances... too many unknowns, assumeds and guessed-ats. :eek:

If (as is becoming increasingly more likely from the things you tell us) the property is jointly held, you may want to Sever the Joint Tenancy and the attached insurance pay-out due to your partner. As it appears to stand at the moment, if you should suddenly or unexpectedly pop your clogs, he will then own the lot by virtue of surviving you and any family or will of yours simply won't come into it! Severance does not, and cannot, alter the 'he owns 50%' scenario but it can legally prevent the 50% you own in your own right from passing to him upon your death.

Don't do anything in a hurry except find a specialist solicitor and listen very carefully to their advice. I know it's confusing but I hope that helps.

dirtysexymonkey

op if you still keep all your records you should inform him that off any monies that he thinks hes entitled you will be deducting 50% of the cost of the bills for the last however many years. that should dent his entitlement a bit in your favour. he may be entitled to 50% of the house but everything else of yours is exactly that- yours.

RAS

Hi

The situation depends on whether thi is a tenancy in common or a joint tenancy ans whether you wrote anything into the original purchase which defined your shares.

Unfortunately if it is a joint tenancy and there is no trust defining the right to return of deposits etc you will have to pay him half. There was a case recently where the ex partner waited until the woman had paid off all the equity and then claimed his half back, after 19 years absence.

So, try and stop paying anything other than the interest on the mortgage. I am also worried about the endowment. In whose favour is that written?

paddy's_mum

dirtysexymonkey wrote: »

op if you still keep all your records you should inform him that off any monies that he thinks hes entitled you will be deducting 50% of the cost of the bills for the last however many years. that should dent his entitlement a bit in your favour. he may be entitled to 50% of the house but everything else of yours is exactly that- yours.

I'm not trying to be clever, or rebut your point of view, but how does 25,000 litres of water long gone down the plughole, or £15,000 of groceries already digested and excreted, or 22,000 miles worth of petrol in a car provided and funded by the OP, and all the gifts and holidays enjoyed by the couple and now long in the past, or the vet bill or the barber's charges, or the newspapers and magazines...

I don't know a court in Europe that will substantiate that kind of airy-fairy claim, particularly without solid paperwork to evidence that there was NOT some kind of like-for-like pay-off.

The partner might say "but Your Honour, we agreed that she would pay all of this so long as I was her presentable escort at social functions so that she didn't feel that she was alone and unloved..." Or "Your Honour, she just wanted a stud in her bed..."
Or "Your Honour, she was petrified of spiders and my sole task was to deal with them while she freaked out in the other room..."

The man has actually been quite clever in laying a paper trail of payments for Council Tax for both of them thereby avoiding any hint of prosecution but showing 'willing'.

Of course, OP, you do realise that dirtysexymonkey is absolutely right that your partner can take NOTHING out of the home except what he can prove he paid for! If you've got the receipts or payment schedule for your new suite - it's yours, unless he can show his contribution via his extremely detailed bank statements ... an entry labelled cash doesn't count!

elenaworld

dirtysexymonkey wrote: »

op if you still keep all your records you should inform him that off any monies that he thinks hes entitled you will be deducting 50% of the cost of the bills for the last however many years. that should dent his entitlement a bit in your favour. he may be entitled to 50% of the house but everything else of yours is exactly that- yours.

Thank you for your response. When you say records of receipts, do you mean everything that I have paid for will be deducted i.e. holidays, utilities?

It's the property I am trying to hold onto.

elenaworld

paddy's_mum wrote: »

I'm not trying to be clever, or rebut your point of view, but how does 25,000 litres of water long gone down the plughole, or £15,000 of groceries already digested and excreted, or 22,000 miles worth of petrol in a car provided and funded by the OP, and all the gifts and holidays enjoyed by the couple and now long in the past, or the vet bill or the barber's charges, or the newspapers and magazines...

I don't know a court in Europe that will substantiate that kind of airy-fairy claim, particularly without solid paperwork to evidence that there was NOT some kind of like-for-like pay-off.

The partner might say "but Your Honour, we agreed that she would pay all of this so long as I was her presentable escort at social functions so that she didn't feel that she was alone and unloved..." Or "Your Honour, she just wanted a stud in her bed..."
Or "Your Honour, she was petrified of spiders and my sole task was to deal with them while she freaked out in the other room..."

The man has actually been quite clever in laying a paper trail of payments for Council Tax for both of them thereby avoiding any hint of prosecution but showing 'willing'.

Of course, OP, you do realise that dirtysexymonkey is absolutely right that your partner can take NOTHING out of the home except what he can prove he paid for! If you've got the receipts or payment schedule for your new suite - it's yours, unless he can show his contribution via his extremely detailed bank statements ... an entry labelled cash doesn't count!

Thanks for the response. He doesn't want anything from the house, only his CDs, he wants the cash. My bank statement shows everything so hopefully that will be taken into account.

paddy's_mum

As a matter of interest, where is he going to live when he moves out? What money is going to be paying his bills?

You do realise that even if he moves out voluntarily, in the absence of a court issued Exclusion Order, he could choose to walk back in again all the time he is a joint owner and has not yet sold his share of it and there is nothing you can do (legally anyway!) to prevent him doing so.

Please, get on the phone today and sort out an urgent appointment with a good solicitor.

Not at all meaning to patronise you, but you might also want to nip into the library or a good bookshop and get a book on matrimonial law so that you can learn, at your own pace, what all these confusing words and concepts are and how any particular law is llikely to be operated in real life.

elenaworld

paddy's_mum wrote: »

As a matter of interest, where is he going to live when he moves out? What money is going to be paying his bills?

You do realise that even if he moves out voluntarily, in the absence of a court issued Exclusion Order, he could choose to walk back in again all the time he is a joint owner and has not yet sold his share of it and there is nothing you can do (legally anyway!) to prevent him doing so.

Please, get on the phone today and sort out an urgent appointment with a good solicitor.

Not at all meaning to patronise you, but you might also want to nip into the library or a good bookshop and get a book on matrimonial law so that you can learn, at your own pace, what all these confusing words and concepts are and how any particular law is llikely to be operated in real life.

He is going to go and live with his parents (yes 47 and going back home). You see at Christmas he decided he didn't like his job and decided to resign even after I categorically told him to find a job first. So now he just works part-time, a couple of days a week. It drives me mad. Im working all hours to keep this place and he just earns money for his drinking problem.

You're not patronising at all, its sound advice and I will go to the library, it's a great idea. I am still waiting for the Land Registry report to come in, so hopefully today I will know more. I will find a solicitor today too and hopefully they will be able to give me some positive advice.