Sale of property in relationship break-up

kimthomasandaimee

My partner and I are in the process of splitting up. We have two children and live in a rented house. We also own a flat that is worth 90-100k that we are renting to someone else as a source of income.

The flat is currently owned in both of our names. My current partner is stating that when sold, he will give me either 10 or 15k of the above figure as I will be the one that is moving out.

My plan is to rent somewhere nearby to my children so they can spend plenty of time with me each week however their main place of residence will be in the current rented family home with their Father.

I suppose my question is, should I accept the offer of 10k or should I push for a figure closer to 50% of the value?

His reasoning is:

a) I will be the one moving out.
b) I am the one who is actually dissatisfied with the relationship and wants to move out.
c) The children's 'main' home will be with him.
d) The flat was brought with the proceedings from the sale of a property that he owned in his sole name.

The reasons I think I should have a fairer share are:

a) When I move out I need to be financially secure so my children have a home to spend time with me in as well.
b) I contributed financially over the years to general running costs of the house over the fourteen years we were together.
c) The flat is currently in both of our names.

So I was wondering if anyone has any idea where I stand legally on this? He is saying at the moment that if I don't take his 10k offer then I could end up with nothing at all.

Many thanks for any advice.

robpw2

kimthomasandaimee wrote: »

My partner and I are in the process of splitting up. We have two children and live in a rented house. We also own a flat that is worth 90-100k that we are renting to someone else as a source of income.

The flat is currently owned in both of our names. My current partner is stating that when sold, he will give me either 10 or 15k of the above figure as I will be the one that is moving out.

My plan is to rent somewhere nearby to my children so they can spend plenty of time with me each week however their main place of residence will be in the current rented family home with their Father.

I suppose my question is, should I accept the offer of 10k or should I push for a figure closer to 50% of the value?

His reasoning is:

a) I will be the one moving out.
b) I am the one who is actually dissatisfied with the relationship and wants to move out.
c) The children's 'main' home will be with him.
d) The flat was brought with the proceedings from the sale of a property that he owned in his sole name.

The reasons I think I should have a fairer share are:

a) When I move out I need to be financially secure so my children have a home to spend time with me in as well.
b) I contributed financially over the years to general running costs of the house over the fourteen years we were together.
c) The flat is currently in both of our names.

So I was wondering if anyone has any idea where I stand legally on this? He is saying at the moment that if I don't take his 10k offer then I could end up with nothing at all.

Many thanks for any advice.

Please go to the CAB and get them to refer you to a solicitor

DO not agree to anything until you have sound legal advice

Pixie5740

Are there any Deeds of Trust from when these properties were purchased?

JoJo1978

I'm sorry about your relationship. You and partner both need to hire independent legal representation who will help you through the process.

kimthomasandaimee

I'm not really sure what a deed of trust is but I have both of our names on all sales related documentation and on the Freehold.

Pixie5740

A Deed of Trust sets out, amongst other things, what happens in the event or a relationship breakdown. If there is no Deed of Trust then the starting point is 50/50 of any equity.

Socajam

Do you own the flat or is there a mortgage?
If there is a mortgage, when it is paid off, how much is left?
From what is left, if he subtracted the deposit, then I guess you could split the difference.
If the flat is mortgage free, once he subtracted his deposit, then the remainder should be split 50/50.
This should have nothing to do with who wants to move out or not.
Both of you need to realize that the more the solicitors are involved the less money is left to share out.
Solicitors will tell you a long story, because at the end of the day, they are in the business to make money.
I was in a situation similar to you, I gave him his money and moved on, because I was not prepared to make my solicitor any richer.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]If the flat is not mortgaged then you own something worth approx £50k so I would hang on to it.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]For whatever reason your partner put the property into joint names (you need to check exactly how the property is owned) and therefore effectively gifted you that amount at that time.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Assuming you own it 50/50 then, when it is sold, your half will be paid to you. You can then, if you want, chose to give some back to your partner.[/FONT]

gingercordial

Are you married? I expect not as you say "partner" not "husband".

You are legally one of the owners of the flat. If you are not married then there are two ways of looking at it.

1. You have a right to 50% and can prevent any sale that he might try to initiate, or agree to it on the grounds that you get 50% by default. The solicitor handling the sale should give this to you. You don't have to agree to give any of it back.

2. However, if he is not interested in selling the flat at this time, he can also block any sale. This means that, for as long as he wants, he could just give you nothing because your asset remains "safe" as half-ownership of a flat. Stalemate. There are legal ways to force a sale but they are very expensive and long-winded.

So does he want/need to sell the flat himself? Does he need his share of the money?

If he does need to sell you can allow this to happen but enforce your right to half the proceeds.

If he doesn't need to sell you may be better off accepting his offer as otherwise you'll get nothing other than continued ownership.

gingercordial

kimthomasandaimee wrote: »

His reasoning is:

b) I am the one who is actually dissatisfied with the relationship and wants to move out.

By the way, this bit is appalling. You cannot force a person to stay in a relationship if they have fallen out of love. Him trying to punish you financially for wanting to leave him is awful and horribly controlling :mad:

saajan_12

kimthomasandaimee wrote: »

My partner and I are in the process of splitting up. We have two children and live in a rented house. We also own a flat that is worth 90-100k that we are renting to someone else as a source of income.- how much is the equity (ie value - outstanding mortgage? This is the relevant figure.

The flat is currently owned in both of our names. My current partner is stating that when sold, he will give me either 10 or 15k of the above figure as I will be the one that is moving out. how much is that in relation to the equity?

My plan is to rent somewhere nearby to my children so they can spend plenty of time with me each week however their main place of residence will be in the current rented family home with their Father.- okay, but irrelevant to the sale of an investment property.

I suppose my question is, should I accept the offer of 10k or should I push for a figure closer to 50% of the value? - starting point would be 50% of the equity, not total value. Then look at ownership shares (joint or tenants in common, who put in deposit etc)

His reasoning is:

a) I will be the one moving out. - irrelevant,
the property in question is not the current residence
b) I am the one who is actually dissatisfied with the relationship and wants to move out.- irrelevant
c) The children's 'main' home will be with him.- irrelevant
d) The flat was brought with the proceedings from the sale of a property that he owned in his sole name. -
okay, so how much of the deposit came from him? What was the agreement when the new flat was bought? Did he effectively give you half his equity from his previous property?

The reasons I think I should have a fairer share are:

a) When I move out I need to be financially secure so my children have a home to spend time with me in as well. -
irrelevant
b) I contributed financially over the years to general running costs of the house over the fourteen years we were together. - okay, so did this include mortgage interest?Any increase in value / mortgage paid off should certainly be split.

c) The flat is currently in both of our names. -
as 'joint tenants' or 'tenants in common'? Was there a deed of trust?

So I was wondering if anyone has any idea where I stand legally on this? He is saying at the moment that if I don't take his 10k offer then I could end up with nothing at all. - depends on how much 50% of the equity is. If he forced a sale and you blocked it, you may have to pay some of court costs, so you both could end up with less than the 50% of equity, which might take you below the 10k, down to nothing. IF he didn't force a sale then you'd get no cash now, but would still have a share in the asset for future sale and ongoing rental income.

Many thanks for any advice.

What is the balance of the mortgage on the property (if any)? That would have to be repaid first, then the equity (value - mortgage balance) is up for splitting between you and partner.

How much of the equity you get depends on a few things
- If owned as 'Tenants in Common' with a Deed of Trust, then split according to that.
- If owned as 'Joint Tenants' or no Deed, then the starting point is split the equity 50/50.
- Partner may get first £X to cover his contribution to the deposit if that was agreed
- Rest should be split 50/50 as after 14 years it would likely be treated as a joint home.
- If you can come to an agreement, that would be best to save agro and court/lawyer costs. If not, make sure you make it clear that you are refusign a sale because partner won't agree to a fair split, not just to be difficult, in order to avoid getting court costs attributed to you.