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When an unmarried couple go their separate ways, only property to which both partners made a financial contribution is automatically included when deciding how to share out the finances. And the shares in the property will be determined by what it says on the Land Registry. If you hold property as joint tenants, it is assumed the split will be 50/50, as it will be if you hold property as tenants in common in equal shares. If you have registered a different split as tenants in common, with unequal shares of 60% and 40% for example, then you'll get whatever share belongs to you.
The key difference between being joint tenants and tenants in common is what happens if either owner dies. With a joint tenancy, both owners own the whole property so when one dies, the property automatically passes to the other joint owner.
With tenants in common, each joint owner owns a distinct share in the property. This distinct share can be left to anyone on death, so the other owner will only inherit the remaining share if the person who dies has drawn up a will which leaves his or her share in the property to the surviving owner.
EXAMPLE
Q My partner of eight years (we weren't married) left me after his second affair and he moved out 13 months ago. My home is mine: the mortgage is in my name and I had owned it for three years before we met. The only bill he ever had his name on was council tax. He did, however, give me a monthly amount which paid for his share of the bills and food, most household items, trips out and holidays. We have no kids together, although my own teenagers live in the house with me.
Now after an absence of 13 months and no payments from him he wants me to give him what he calls "his share" of the equity in my house. My most pressing argument is that I have battled for more than a year to successfully pay my mortgage while he has contributed nothing. If I had paid nothing for 13 months the bank would now own my house. Surely, then, he cannot do this? DC
ANo, your ex cannot claim a share of your home, and that's not just because he hasn't helped pay the
mortgage for the past 13 months. According to Vicki McLynn, an expert in family law at Manchester-based solicitors Pannone LLP, your ex would need to show that you had intended him to have an interest in your property, which given what you say you clearly didn't. The onus would be on your ex to prove his case, which would be a pretty tall order and extremely difficult for him to do
So basically, you have to be married, in a civil partnership or register a legal shared interest in any property as in a purchase of convenience or investment. Don't just pay over the cash to someone who has sole title to any property.
