living together/not married/need advice

wychweaver

Hi
I'm really hoping I can get some answers as I am so confused and have no idea really.

Here are my circumstances.

I have lived with my partner for 2 years, we were renting but the landlord needs to sell. My partner decided that he would buy a house and we would live there together. I will be paying half the mortgage or as close to that amount as I possibly can.
My partner is using his own savings for the deposit.

Here are my problems:

Can my name be on the deeds even though we are not married?
Can my name be on the mortgage even though he is buying on his own? (a joint mortgage would be no good as my credit history is marred and the application for him has already been approved)

How do we go about that?

What legal rights do I have in case of us splitting up? also if he dies?
If he made a will stating his wishes regarding the house then would this be enough?

What is a declaration of trust? what does it mean?

There are children from his first marriage but he's hoping that life insurance policies will be left to them. If not then I worry that the house will go to them.

We have no plans to marry, both been married twice before so I need to know what I can do to protect my future. I of course have every intention of seeing my days out with this man and I hope that is the case.

Thank you in advance, an offer has gone in on a house and has been accepted so time is running out and I would like to move with peace of mind.

BitterAndTwisted

wychweaver wrote: »

Here are my problems:

Can my name be on the deeds even though we are not married?

Yes, you can if you are a joint-purchaser.


Can my name be on the mortgage even though he is buying on his own? (a joint mortgage would be no good as my credit history is marred and the application for him has already been approved)

How do we go about that?

No, you can't be "on the mortgage" or the deeds if he is buying in his sole name.


What legal rights do I have in case of us splitting up?

You would have none unless you have a Deed of Trust drawn up.


also if he dies? If he made a will stating his wishes regarding the house then would this be enough?

Enough for what? If there is no life-insurance policy which would pay out enough to settle the whole of the balance of the mortgage, then it would need to be sold in order to achieve that.


What is a declaration of trust? what does it mean?

A Declaration of Trust is a legally binding contract in which you both agree about what will happen to the deposit and/or the equity in the property should you split up at some point in the future assuming you do not marry. Getting married and remaining so for at least two years is likely to over-ride it.


There are children from his first marriage but he's hoping that life insurance policies will be left to them. If not then I worry that the house will go to them.

In England & Wales children have no automatic right to inherit, so if he wants the total interest of the equity in the property, should the mortgage not be paid off in full upon death to go to you, he will need to make a will stating this explicitly.

We have no plans to marry, both been married twice before so I need to know what I can do to protect my future. I of course have every intention of seeing my days out with this man and I hope that is the case.

Thank you in advance, an offer has gone in on a house and has been accepted so time is running out and I would like to move with peace of mind.

In order to protect your future, you need to agree to sign a Deed of Trust. Perhaps allowing him to have the deposit he contributed returned to him before any equity is split between you, if you are going to pay equal contributions towards the mortgage-payments.

Another way of going about it is to perhaps calculate his deposit as buying a certain percentage of the purchase-price, which he would get back, and then you both split the remaining equity equally.

There are a number of ways of skinning this particular cat as no one way is the "right way" just that you both agree that's it's what you both think is fair.

getmore4less

There is a correct way to do it based on equitable shares.

the other way(get deposit back) is in effect an interest free loan, not good when prices fall for the person without the money.

Going4TheDream

A very close friend of mine was badly bitten in circumstances similar to the ones you describe, and after pouring a lot of money (and years of her life) in to a house owned by her partner ended up walking away with nothing, and was advised legally that she had no legal interest in the property, and it was going to cost a fortune to pursue him privately for anything, and on balance it wouldn't have been worth pursuing for what she would have gotten out of it.

Sorry if this is a bit off kilter to your questions but the very first question I would be asking if in your circumstances is 'why is he buying this house alone'.....and 'why am I paying half of his mortgage?' If you are in a stable long term relationship why not buy together. I understand that you would pay rent if you lived elsewhere, and unless you ensure that this is a strict landlord/tenant/lodger relationship you will end up spending money on 'things or improvements ' for a house you don't actually own!

It would be just as easy to protect his deposit in percentage terms so in the event of a split he would not be left out of pocket, and would get his deposit back with any interest as well as his half share of any profits from the house sale.

ognum

can I suggest you post this on the housing board where some property solicitors hang out who may help.

heartbreak_star

Going4TheDream wrote: »

'why is he buying this house alone'.....

Her credit rating isn't good - stated in first post. Me and OH are in the same situation.

HBS x

Brallaqueen

Not to be all old fashioned about this, butif you want to protect yourself and have a right to live in the house - then get married. It is the cheapest, quickest and most comprehensive legal protection you can get.
If you do not want to get married, then you will need to accept that you will have no automatic right to stay in the property and may have to jump through some legal hoops (DoT for example ) to get anything close to the security marriage can give you.

Note I say this as a single woman with my own flat and who will offer a stake in it to someone else when Hell freezes over.

thorsoak

What legal rights do I have in case of us splitting up? also if he dies?
If he made a will stating his wishes regarding the house then would this be enough?

He must make a will!

Dunroamin

I have to say that I wouldn't be paying half the mortgage for a property that was in someone else's name unless I was married to him.

maman

Dunroamin wrote: »

I have to say that I wouldn't be paying half the mortgage for a property that was in someone else's name unless I was married to him.

Nor would I if we were in a relationship. It sort of puts the relationship on the landlord and lodger basis and I wouldn't be happy with that.

I'd advise that you take legal advice together, explaining to a solicitor about him paying the deposit and wanting to protect the home for you but his children getting something longer term. Plus there are other assets (life insurance?). Then get it all drawn up properly.

http://www.willaid.org.uk/

This may interest you. We used it a couple of years ago but we did pay extra because our situation is complex. Good to support a charity though.

FBaby

I have to say that I wouldn't be paying half the mortgage for a property that was in someone else's name unless I was married to him.

I did for 2 years, but this was on the understanding that we would be married soon. When soon seemed a bit far away, i did insist that he made a will. In the end, he decided we might as well get married indeed!

What raises alarms to me is this:

My partner decided that he would buy a house and we would live there together.

Surely that should have been a joint decision if they were already living together for 2 year?