My Rights, if any

Barbary

Hi there,

Would hugely appreciate it if anyone can advise me on what my rights, if any, would be in this situation.

My partner and I are thinking of buying a house together. My partner is providing the deposit and for reasons to do with securing the mortgage ( I only work part-time and am a mature student) it would be solely in her name, but we will be splitting the mortgage payments, insurance, bills etc 50/50. We are looking into a legal document that would register my financial input, ie, the contribution to the mortgage. To add to complications, she is still married. If she divorces, what rights does her husband have to the property, and where would I stand? Many, many thanks for taking the time to read

jamie11

Barbary wrote: »

Hi there,

Would hugely appreciate it if anyone can advise me on what my rights, if any, would be in this situation.

My partner and I are thinking of buying a house together. My partner is providing the deposit and for reasons to do with securing the mortgage ( I only work part-time and am a mature student) it would be solely in her name, but we will be splitting the mortgage payments, insurance, bills etc 50/50. We are looking into a legal document that would register my financial input, ie, the contribution to the mortgage. To add to complications, she is still married. If she divorces, what rights does her husband have to the property, and where would I stand? Many, many thanks for taking the time to read

Go and talk to a solicitor. There are far too many variables here for a forum to answer.

Fire_Fox

Welcome! It's well worth running a search, all these issues have been raised many times. Are your partner and her ex subject to a financial order and/ or deed of separation?

You are unlikely to be able to go on the deeds of the property unless you are on the mortgage, the lender won't agree to it. Do you really need to have a legal agreement at this stage? The first few years almost nothing is paid off the capital it is all interest (= rent) and we are in a recession so increases in equity are unlikely. One option is to actually pay half the mortgage out of your bank account if the lender will permit it, then you have a clear record of directly contributing.

By paying the bills do you mean the utility bills and council tax? As a resident you pay these anyway, it's nothing to do with the mortgage or value of the property. Or do you mean decorating, upgrading the kitchen? If you do then pay those out of your bank account, you can't really get a legal agreement ahead of time to recognise this because you don't know how much it is.

sailerboy

So basically your partner is buying a property. You will be living there and contibuting to some costs. IE paying your partner rent & share of bills.

Unless you actually contribute to the value of the property (ie by paying for an extension to be built) you will be a lodger.

As for your partner's ex's rights, that is a matter your ex needs to deal with (urgently) as part of her divorce settlement - seek legal advice for this. Clearly divorce is an important next step considering you are considering living together (and even discussing joint property purchase).

Barbary

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. You have given me much to think about

Kynthia

Most of what you will be paying are running costs and these add nothing to the value of the property or contribute to any equity. Only the capital portion of the mortgage repayments goes towards paying off the loan and is of possible interest when discussing your financial rights, along with any capital improvements to the property.

Discuss with you partner what should happen regarding the finances if you break up, then see a solicitor about a cohabitation agreement or Deed of Trust. You'd be mad not to get one when you aren't married. Also you need legal clarity on the risk your partner's spouse poses.