friend with MS being treated badly by ExP, need some advice re house sale etc

[Adarajames]

Hi
I have a friend with MS who is no longer mobile, dependant on carers and has been stuck in one inaccessible room of the house she had shared with her now Ex for 30+ years. He has always been somewhat emotionally abusive, belittling her, etc, and hasn't got better now she's ill and they've separated.

They own the house they have lived in here in SE London that she is still living in, along with 2 down in Hampshire that he's mostly living in, and for some reason, before I knew her, he talked her into signing them all into his name only, supposedly 'for tax reasons'!

He has now told her she has to be out by the end of september, and thankfully we've found an accessible flat she can rent from a HA, although it needs work so she won't be moving by his deadline, but the knowledge that she will be gone soon seems to have shut him up on that front for now, but he is saying that all the properties are his alone as he paid all the mortgages, and the paperwork seems to back that up! Its not true as she has always worked until ill health, and paid into the house / maintenance / bills etc etc. They aren't married, so its not as simple as divorce and demand her fair share, so wondered if anyone had been in a similar situation and could tell us what her rights might be / what sort of agreement we need to apply for / what to instruct the solicitor to do?

I'm also ill with ME and fibromyalgea and finding it rather a strain to try and help her out when I know nothing about any of this, so any support / knowledge shared would be very gratefully received?

Thanks

[PlantsAndFlowers]

She needs to speak to a solicitor.

[Adarajames]

Forgot what I was most hoping to find out! I vaguely recall another thread that said you couldn't get legal aid for solicitor to assist with such situation unless there was evidence of a use - or did I imagine / misunderstand that?

[heyday]

I know that legal aid has been drastically cut in recent months so she may find it hard to get assistance with paying for legal advice.
Does she belong to the MS society as they seem to have a quite extensive range of help for their members.
I just hope she can soon settle into her new home and find some peace in her life.
Please be careful of how much support you give as too much help will be detrimental to your own health.

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

If your friend believes that she has a financial stake in some of these properties then I think she could find a solicitor that would be prepared to give her a free half-hour consultation, see how they rate her chances, and propose to them that they could take their fee out of any final settlement. Alternatively, she could try seeing CAB. If she has evidence of investment in the properties (as opposed to on-going running costs) or any other documents that might help. On the face of it, however, if everything is in his name and if they were never married then she doesn't have much of a claim.