Help settle an argument - cohabitation rights

[kiethton]

Guys, little debate on the golf course this morning...

Situation:

House owned in single name of male
All bills paid by the homeowner
All house things (barring £30 a month of food) paid by the homeowner
Female not on the mortgage at all, no money paid to live there rent or otherwise

If things went sour would there be any claim on the house - no kids, both work (although male has 3x salary)

[LordHaveMurci]

No there wouldn't.

Myself & my OH split a couple of years ago & I took good legal advice, no claim thankfully.
Happy to report we settled our differences & we're now back together

[KingNothing]

Similar situation listed as above, but with the woman playing the domestic violence card:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[kiethton]

Thanks all, no DV so that's not a worry.

I was in the same boat, don't know how a claim can be made with no legal standing or contribution

[PurpleMoonlight]

The contribution does not have to be financial.

[98elise]

My solicitor described co-habiting as being "Strangers in Law" when it comes to house ownership. Its no different to two mates living in a house, where one is the home owner.

There isn't a formal reconition of people living living together, unless its for tax/benefits purposes. Different for scotland IIRC.

[anonymous-user]

Your solicitor is clueless. There is a substantial body of law dealing with people cohabiting.

Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 28th September 15:35

[9mm]

Without full details (the op hardly represents that) how can anyone give a definitive answer?

All I know is that these matters, like employment law, are rarely as black and white as people would have you believe.

Divorce is another one. Try reading up on clean breaks!

[98elise]

Breadvan72 said:

Your solicitor is clueless. There is a substantial body of law dealing with people cohabiting.

Edited by Breadvan72 on Sunday 28th September 15:35

Possibly, this was 20 years ago when my then partner was moving in. I was buying the house, and was going to be paying all the bills. My solicitor said there was no danger of my partner claiming ownership of anything if the circumstances stayed the same.

He said as far as the law was concerned we would be treated no different to a mate moving in and paying no rent or contributing to the bills.

[9mm]

98elise said:

Breadvan72 said:

Your solicitor is clueless. There is a substantial body of law dealing with people cohabiting.

Edited by Breadvan72 on Sunday 28th September 15:35

Possibly, this was 20 years ago when my then partner was moving in. I was buying the house, and was going to be paying all the bills. My solicitor said there was no danger of my partner claiming ownership of anything if the circumstances stayed the same.

He said as far as the law was concerned we would be treated no different to a mate moving in and paying no rent or contributing to the bills.

20 years ago the world was slightly different, as were many laws.

[singlecoil]

kiethton said:

Thanks all, no DV so that's not a worry.

AIUI, there was no DV in the case mentioned. Just the claim that there was DV. Most DV is not witnessed, so a woman's claim that there was DV will normally be believed if it seems genuine.

So the fact that there isn't any DV shouldn't stop you worrying.

[Jon1967x]

9mm said:

Without full details (the op hardly represents that) how can anyone give a definitive answer?

While you're correct, there is a misconception that common law husband/wife are similar to a married couple in terms of rights and that is not true. That's not the same as saying they have no rights.

This is a golf course conversation and one I've had with friends myself, I think the generalization is sufficient for that purpose.

[Rovinghawk]

Jon1967x said:

there is a misconception that common law husband/wife are similar to a married couple

My ex is a family solicitor & regularly told me that there is no such thing as a common law husband/wife.

[anonymous-user]

Rovinghawk said:

My ex is a family solicitor & regularly told me that there is no such thing as a common law husband/wife.

Correct, there is not.

[Jon1967x]

Rovinghawk said:

Jon1967x said:

there is a misconception that common law husband/wife are similar to a married couple

My ex is a family solicitor & regularly told me that there is no such thing as a common law husband/wife.

That's my point, maybe not explained very well.

[schmunk]

Rovinghawk said:

My ex is a family solicitor & regularly told me that there is no such thing as a common law husband/wife.

There is for the purpose of means-tested benefits...

[anonymous-user]

Nope, that has nothing to do with the common law. There is indeed no such thing as common law marriage. Where, however, a partner in a relationship contributes to a household (and contribution is not measured in money alone) he or she may obtain some interest in property. Each case depends on its own facts.

we have had a recent flurry of split up threads over the last month or so, and it's not even Christmas!

[kiethton]

Interesting!

Thankfully this isn't one, just a what if based on what my brother and dad were trying to say to me - aka that if the worst happened there may be a claim over the flat....

[lbc]

kiethton said:

Guys, little debate on the golf course this morning...

Situation:

House owned in single name of male
All bills paid by the homeowner
All house things (barring £30 a month of food) paid by the homeowner
Female not on the mortgage at all, no money paid to live there rent or otherwise

If things went sour would there be any claim on the house - no kids, both work (although male has 3x salary)

Are they married?