18 months co-habitating
Discussion
Someone I know is convinced that after 18 months of co-habitating with a partner, whether married or not, the assets are split 50/50 in the event you stop co-habitating. I think this must be crap, but can anyone on here confirm either way.
The house is mine, paid for by me, and with no cash from anyone else. Someone else lives here, but that is all. Surely there is no way in hell that she could take half of what I own, just because she's lived with me for a shorter period of time than Ive worn my underwear.
The house is mine, paid for by me, and with no cash from anyone else. Someone else lives here, but that is all. Surely there is no way in hell that she could take half of what I own, just because she's lived with me for a shorter period of time than Ive worn my underwear.
I'm fairly sure I've seen some cases where an unmarried couple without kids has broken up and the female has successfully taken the man to court to claim £££££
One thing is for sure though, if she takes one of your vehicles you're not getting it back.
Whilst the law is on your side.. You can still find weird situations like this:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/articl...
One thing is for sure though, if she takes one of your vehicles you're not getting it back.
Whilst the law is on your side.. You can still find weird situations like this:
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/articl...
Edited by cat with a hat on Saturday 17th June 22:03
Edited by cat with a hat on Saturday 17th June 22:04
cat with a hat said:
I'm fairly sure I've seen some cases where an unmarried couple without kids has broken up and the female has successfully taken the man to court to claim £££££
I know of one for 100% except it was settled before it went to court by an ex-partner who knew he'd lose. Cohabitation was for much more than 1.5 years tho'.drainbrain said:
cat with a hat said:
I'm fairly sure I've seen some cases where an unmarried couple without kids has broken up and the female has successfully taken the man to court to claim £££££
I know of one for 100% except it was settled before it went to court by an ex-partner who knew he'd lose. Cohabitation was for much more than 1.5 years tho'.Negative equity should be treated the same but of course that's harder to claim
As above, a case could clearly be brought, and a judge could possibly choose that a "100%-0%" split was not the right one.
Does your partner really contribute absolutely zero? No share of any bills?
If you are going to stay cohabiting, it's maybe worth having a conversation about expectations. I know a couple who did as you have for over ten years, and when they broke up the woman was genuinely shocked that she was left with absolutely nothing, and felt that she'd destroyed her future.
The man had been a very high earner, and she'd never bothered working. He'd paid for the house, the bills, and had given her "pocket money" which was more than enough for her to have a nice life on. When they split she went from driving a new SL, holidaying in Cap Ferrat and using the ski chalet as and when she wanted to being literally homeless and penniless.
It's maybe worth checking that you both understand where you are, although of course that may be a conversation that you don't want to have.
Does your partner really contribute absolutely zero? No share of any bills?
If you are going to stay cohabiting, it's maybe worth having a conversation about expectations. I know a couple who did as you have for over ten years, and when they broke up the woman was genuinely shocked that she was left with absolutely nothing, and felt that she'd destroyed her future.
The man had been a very high earner, and she'd never bothered working. He'd paid for the house, the bills, and had given her "pocket money" which was more than enough for her to have a nice life on. When they split she went from driving a new SL, holidaying in Cap Ferrat and using the ski chalet as and when she wanted to being literally homeless and penniless.
It's maybe worth checking that you both understand where you are, although of course that may be a conversation that you don't want to have.
My ex got legal aid to attack my house under TLATA. Based on her alleging that she had given me cash towards a new kitchen and that I promised her half the house. In evidence she agreed that there was no proof of any cash and she couldn't show its origins (skint) and that there was No documentary evidence of the promise and indeed it was never directly discussed.
It cost me £29800 in legal fees ten years ago.
It cost me £29800 in legal fees ten years ago.
s55shh said:
My ex got legal aid to attack my house under TLATA. Based on her alleging that she had given me cash towards a new kitchen and that I promised her half the house. In evidence she agreed that there was no proof of any cash and she couldn't show its origins (skint) and that there was No documentary evidence of the promise and indeed it was never directly discussed.
It cost me £29800 in legal fees ten years ago.
Ha, I got stitched up exactly the same way 15 years ago.It cost me £29800 in legal fees ten years ago.
I was quoted £15,000 to defend which I wouldn't get back if I won, so I did a deal with the evil witch for the same money.
As others have hinted... It becomes a bit blurrier if the woman paid a significant share of bills or makes something up like "I contributed X towards redecorating Y."
You probably won't have any issues, particularly if you don't spend a significant part of your life living with her.
Just don't completely remove the possibility of her attempting to pull a fast one if things do unfortunately take a turn for the worse from the back of your mind.
You probably won't have any issues, particularly if you don't spend a significant part of your life living with her.
Just don't completely remove the possibility of her attempting to pull a fast one if things do unfortunately take a turn for the worse from the back of your mind.
In a nutshell, a co-habiting partner does not have any automatic rights, but can apply to the court for a financial settlement upon separation just as a wife could.
Whilst it would not carry the same strength (certainly not after just 18 months) our Family courts are so biased towards women the result of such a petition is unknown and common sense often doesn't come in to it.
The best thing to do is get a pre-nup style agreement and then update it every year with her always seeking legal advice. Even that isn't watertight, but better than nothing.
Men are fodder these days, I am sorry to say.
Whilst it would not carry the same strength (certainly not after just 18 months) our Family courts are so biased towards women the result of such a petition is unknown and common sense often doesn't come in to it.
The best thing to do is get a pre-nup style agreement and then update it every year with her always seeking legal advice. Even that isn't watertight, but better than nothing.
Men are fodder these days, I am sorry to say.
If you have a mortgage or need to remortgage they will ask you if there is anyone else over the age of 18 in the property, if there is they will write to that person ask them to confirm they have 'no interest' in the property to get legal advice and confirm in writing, that's what happened to me anyway.
I'd say you are safe. I was in a similar position, we decided to move in together, I'd pay for the house, deposit, mortgage etc but her name was never on the mortgage. She paid for some of the utilities, telephone and electric IIRC.
When it came time to split, the solicitors advice to me was that the only items she could claim for was what she'd put into the house. The utility bills were something she'd have had wherever she would have lived anyway! So rather than hand back the turf and ground cover she'd paid for to get the garden up to her standard quicker than nature would allow, I paid her for that. I did give her a small cash sum but that was my choice, my solicitor was against that from the off.
She wasn't happy but she knew she'd got more than she was entitled too.
Not every bloke gets shafted, overall I came out of it fairly well I feel.
When it came time to split, the solicitors advice to me was that the only items she could claim for was what she'd put into the house. The utility bills were something she'd have had wherever she would have lived anyway! So rather than hand back the turf and ground cover she'd paid for to get the garden up to her standard quicker than nature would allow, I paid her for that. I did give her a small cash sum but that was my choice, my solicitor was against that from the off.
She wasn't happy but she knew she'd got more than she was entitled too.
Not every bloke gets shafted, overall I came out of it fairly well I feel.
untakenname said:
Then they take everything.
Not in my case, she had her own flat that she BTL while leaving with me so moved back there, best she could get if she had gone for it (and I was happy to do so) was I put up £xk to get her into a bigger place for her and the little one, however I would be on title of the new place for value of X, she could either buy me out a latter date or once my kid left home I could ask for my share back. Sounds simple in practice but probably a pain in the a&&Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff