How to divide belongings after a relationship ends

Annisele

Bobbygirl123 said:

He said I could have the car and gave me the keys and I have been driving it for the last 18 months. The car registration and tax is still in his name. He can't prove that he didn't gift it to me and I can't prove that he did.

Being the registered keeper isn't conclusive proof of ownership - it's fairly common for the owner and the keeer to be different people - but I think the fact he remained registered keeper is suggestive of the car being a loan not a gift. If he really intended to give the car to you, then you ought to have become the registered keeper?

Presumably the insurance company knows that you're the main driver of the car - does it also know that you're not the registered keeper? Insurance companies aren't always happy to insure a main driver who is neither the owner nor the keeper, so if you're not absolutely sure of your position that's worth checking.

Bobbygirl123

Thank-you everyone. To answer some of your questions: I have both sets of keys and I have been paying the insurance on the car for the last 12-18 months. He has paid for some new tyres on the car and the servicing is free as part of a plan the car is on. He cannot prove he didn't say you can have it but I cannot prove he did. The car registration and tax is in his name. There was no pretence that I could 'use' the car until a certain time, I was under the impression that he had given it to me.
Bottom line is, I am going to ask him to consider giving me the car as it was a gift and I am not obligated to give it back
I have agreed to give him everything he wanted in the house except a table and the mattress (yes, he said I could have the bed but he wanted the mattress). Wish me luck 

Bobbygirl123

Also as a bit of context we had been together for almost 4 years and were due to be married in 4 months when I found out he had been having an affair. I am also asking him to pay the remaining £4k we owe on the wedding . I think I am being more than fair considering what he has caused 

silvercar

Bobbygirl123 said:

Also as a bit of context we had been together for almost 4 years and were due to be married in 4 months when I found out he had been having an affair. I am also asking him to pay the remaining £4k we owe on the wedding . I think I am being more than fair considering what he has caused 

Sorry to hear this. Better to find out what an @rse he is now than after getting married! I hope things improve for you.

tightauldgit

Bobbygirl123 said:

Also as a bit of context we had been together for almost 4 years and were due to be married in 4 months when I found out he had been having an affair. I am also asking him to pay the remaining £4k we owe on the wedding . I think I am being more than fair considering what he has caused 

I understand this seems fair and reasonable but there's a good chance that's considered a joint debt if both your names are on the invoice. 

Spendless

I *thought* (I could be completely wrong and have imagined this) that you couldn't be the sole person insured on a car if the car is in someone's name. I have a vague memory of something along these lines anyway.

tightauldgit

Bobbygirl123 said:

Thank-you everyone. To answer some of your questions: I have both sets of keys and I have been paying the insurance on the car for the last 12-18 months. He has paid for some new tyres on the car and the servicing is free as part of a plan the car is on. He cannot prove he didn't say you can have it but I cannot prove he did. The car registration and tax is in his name. There was no pretence that I could 'use' the car until a certain time, I was under the impression that he had given it to me.
Bottom line is, I am going to ask him to consider giving me the car as it was a gift and I am not obligated to give it back
I have agreed to give him everything he wanted in the house except a table and the mattress (yes, he said I could have the bed but he wanted the mattress). Wish me luck 

I can't speak for a judge but to my mind if someone hands you the keys to a car and lets you use it as your own and doesn't make it explicitly clear at the time that it's a loan or they expect payment or something similar then it's a gift (on the balance of probabilities). Plus it's clear you acted as if the car was a gift by selling your previous vehicle and contributing the proceeds to shared finances. 

Savvy_Sue

Spendless said:

I *thought* (I could be completely wrong and have imagined this) that you couldn't be the sole person insured on a car if the car is in someone's name. I have a vague memory of something along these lines anyway.

I'm not sure you're right, because it is perfectly possible for a car to be owned by someone who does not and indeed cannot be insured to drive it, eg my friend has such poor eyesight that she cannot drive, but she owns a car which other family members drive. 

goater78

Be worth changing the locks on your house as when you’re at work he could come and just take what he wants. Will be hard for you to stop him. 

Sarahspangles

Bobbygirl123 said:

I have agreed to give him everything he wanted in the house except a table and the mattress (yes, he said I could have the bed but he wanted the mattress). Wish me luck 

Well you're luckier than the new girlfriend sleeping in what was almost someone else's marital bed....

Splitting possessions is the sort of thing that a Living Together Agreement covers, but that ship has sailed.  However the CAB template here has this suggested arrangement for the ownership of stuff:

• If you owned something before you got together, it belongs to you.
• If you bought something with your own money it belongs to you.
• If you inherited something, or it was given to you by someone else, it belongs to you.
• If one of you buys something and gives it to the other it belongs to the person to whom it is given.
• If you buy something out of a joint bank account it belongs to you equally, unless you have agreed to own the account in different shares. If you have, you own the object in those shares.
• If you buy something together but each contribute different amounts to the price, you own it in the shares in which you contributed.

However in this scenario your issue isn't really belongings, its:

• Taking on the rent on the house
• Outstanding costs for the cancelled wedding
• Not having a car since you sold your own and contributed the value to a joint account

What do you actually need financially, to be in a position where you can get on with life again?