is he entitled to anything??

petal_family

Just wonderd if anybody would be able to advise on a situation that my b/f is currently in. To cut a long story short he bought a house with his ex g/f in 2000 and after a couple of years they split up and she moved on and had a son with her new partner. My b/f is still on the mortgage and is now wanting to come off it. Does he have any right to any money from the house beings as he put the initial deposit on it and paid the mortgage for the few years he was there. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

jonesMUFCforever

Joint mortgage means joint and several liability for the debt but should also means that he has a right to a % of the property's worth.
I take it she is living in the house in question ? Is he also paying all/part of the mortgage?

I think he needs to seek proper legal advice.

Debt_Free_Chick

Is his name on the title deeds? I would guess, yes.

Is there any evidence/documents to show that they jointly own the house, other than 50/50? If no, then he's entitled to half the house/equity.

If he believes he's entitled to more than a 50% i.e. because he contributed more than 50% of the cost, he would need to prove this. Otherwise, with no other evidence, he's entitled to a half share.

chappers

like wise if she can prove that she has been paying the mortgage on her own for a period of time he will be entitled to a lesser share.

amyparr

I'm not sure the above is correct from Chappers - if he is the only one whose name is on the deeds, she might not be entitled to much. You say his name is still "on the mortgage" - is his name also on the deeds? This is easy to find out.

If he is, he needs to find out if he has a "joint tenancy" or a "tenancy in common". A "joint tenant" will mean the house is owned 50/50. A "tenancy in common" basically means that the house is shared, but with a different percentage, i.e. 20/80 or something - usually if both people have contributed different sums. Depending on what his interest is, he will have different rights to the property.

This is quite a complex area of the law - just paying off the mortgage doesn't really mean much if your name isn't on the deeds. They are unmarried and so if his partner has contributed nothing except some of the mortgage payments, and isn't on the deeds, there's not a lot she can do. There's no such thing as "common law" rights for unmarried couples in property.

I would advise them to get all the documents they can in relation to the property and then go to the Citizen's Advice Bureau.

Also, this might seem obvious, but unless the property is sold, including to his partner, then he won't be able to claim any money. The only way he can is if the property is sold.

As I said, the CAB will deal with this all of the time. Some solicitor's firms also offer free clinics.

Debt_Free_Chick

chappers wrote: »

like wise if she can prove that she has been paying the mortgage on her own for a period of time he will be entitled to a lesser share.

Not so, I'm afraid. If they own the property jointly, then one party paying the mortgage does not give them greater rights to a share of the equity.

When I split from my ex, I moved out and continued to pay half the mortgage. My solicitor told me I didn't need to do this - I was entitled to half simply because my name was on the deeds and there was nothing to evidence that I was entitled to more or less than 50%.

Debt_Free_Chick

amyparr wrote: »

A "tenancy in common" basically means that the house is shared, but with a different percentage, i.e. 20/80 or something - usually if both people have contributed different sums. Depending on what his interest is, he will have different rights to the property.

Although a TIC doesn't automatically mean that the property is held in shares other than 50/50. It's entirely possible to have a TIC with the property shared equally between the two parties.

If it's not equal, there ought to be other evidence e.g. a trust deed/declaration.

This is quite a complex area of the law - just paying off the mortgage doesn't really mean much if your name isn't on the deeds. They are unmarried and so if his partner has contributed nothing except some of the mortgage payments, and isn't on the deeds, there's not a lot she can do.

Fully agree with you, there