separated but his name on mortgage

[dave62]

i am looking for some advice.
my daughter has separated from her partner of 11 years, she has 2 children 7 and 5.
the house they live in was purchased in his name only, 6 years ago.
he has left for another woman.
he is telling my daughter he wants her out of his house and is giving her verbally 2 months to leave with the kids.
he is not living there but does just let himself in when he feels like it.
she only works 24hrs per week and has just applied for tax credits.
does she have any rights and if so what are they, ie cannot be removed from the house because of the children, would she be entitled to any profit if he sells the house etc etc as she has contributed, so have i, with a lot of diy, as well as paying for it.
he is refusing to pay any maintenance, he says he's paying for her and them to live in the house.
any advice would be great.
tia.

[sosickofthisshit]

Are they married?

[MrsBertBibby]

She needs to see a solicitor. Ask for advice about Schedule 1 Children Act (which could let her stay put until children grown) and TO LATE (ie whether she has any claim in her own right to the equity.

Far too complex to advise on this forum.

[MrsBertBibby]

Argh, TOLATA not "TOO LATE".

Also about getting an occupation order to prevent him evicting her. Legal Aid should be available for that.

[dave62]

thanks for the replies.
they are not married, which had lead us to believe she is entitled to nothing.
i am struggling to get her to get advice as she is burying her head in the sand at the minute.

[MrsBertBibby]

Well that's a good way to end up homeless.

Which may be her best route to getting sorted by the council, of course.

[Whoknows11]

I was in the a similar situation but I owned half the house. He wanted to sell, I said no and we’re still in the house 3 years later. However I’ve paid the mortgage and he’s paid maintenance! Now I want to sell he doesn’t - his mind games are exhausting!

I feel for your daughter and it makes me cross how the man in this situation has no regard for anyone but himself!

As it’s his house essentially and they aren’t married I’m not sure if she has any rights even though they are his children who he could be making homeless.

Best bet is the 30 mins free legal advice. Good luck with it all x

[dave62]

thanks all, for the advice.

[MrsBertBibby]

30 minutes free advice is in no way adequate to advise your daughter.

Unmarried property is complex and she needs to see a solicitor who knows their stuff, a lot of family solicitors are pretty weak on this area.

[dave62]

i am seeing a free legal service on Tuesday but i fear it wont be much use as the situation is as you say is complex but we'll start there and see where it leads us.
for now all im looking to do is keep her and the grandchildren housed and know they have a right to be there.
thank you.

[MrsBertBibby]

The first question has to be : who is paying the mortgage interest? And is that sustainable?

Long term, whilst the Court can enable her to stay until the kids are grown (under Sched. 1 Children Act) that won't happen if it isn't financially viable, ie she can cover mortgage interest.

So before she decides whether to fight to stay or agree to leave, she needs to establish the realities of her situation and whether it's worth it. Also, of course, whether she has a claim on the equity, or not.

[TammyWhyNot]

Has she been paying a regular and documented amount towards the mortgage for any length of time, e.g before the kids were born a bank payment that says ‘mortgage’ as the reference?

Have you paid any money with any reference, e.g an e mail that says ‘I”ll pay for the new roof” or kept contractors receipts of your payments?

[TammyWhyNot]

The ‘stay until the child is 18’ arrangement is becoming rarer and usually applied to married / joint ownership couples.

[MrsBertBibby]

It's becoming rarer because there's no legal aid to fight for it any more, IMO.

And because people are ignorant of the existence of Schedule 1. The received wisdom, including on Mumsnet, is "no ring no rights" and that is really not the whole picture.

[waterSpider]

A piece here, about schedule 1, may be of interest:
www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed143067