What the hell do you do in this situation?

[bibbidibbobbidybo]

Posting so I can try give advice to a lovely friend of mine who is suffering and at a loss as to what she can do.

Il keep it as short as I can.

DF (friend) bought house cash with inheritance a couple of years ago and put partners name on the deeds also (not married) they have 2 DC.

Relationship needs to end, he is controlling, a bully, manipulator and I believe mentally abusive. Poor DF is in bits things are not good at home at all.

Her partner is the breadwinner she is a SAHM and has no income at all other than money partner will send her for things (again very controlling)

She wants to end the relationship but he will not leave the house unless she agrees to sell and give him 50%. He already has quite a high paid job and savings where as DF has nothing but the house as she put all her money into that and also gave up working to please him. She is primary career to the children and when I say that she does 99.9% of everything with the children.

She has nowhere she can go, and cannot claim any benefits until he's left the house which he will not do. She doesn't want to give him 50% as that will leave her struggling to buy another House and would most definitely mean the children will have to move schools and areas.

Please could anyone offer any advice as to what would be her best options in this situation?

She needs to speak with womens aid. Also a solicitor to see if there is the option of getting an occupation order.

She should be able to claim some form of benefit whilst he’s still in the house as long as they are jo longer together.

She needs to get legal advice.

Can she prove she paid for the house on her own and that he asked her to give up work?

Yes, she was talked into putting him on the deeds and the money was all her for an inheritance. He had though invested money into the property to make improvements. Also yes she has
Proof of him saying if she gets a job the relationship is over as he's worried about her being around men at work. It's a really horrible situation and he really is a POS!

She needs to report the abuse, and financial abuse is abuse, see a solicitor

Was there any legal agreement re. Ownership on the land registry, a solicitor would have been involved in explaining the legal implications.

She needs a solicitor. It's going to be hard but they might be able to help her prove she was coerced into putting his name on the deeds.

She does need proper legal advice but I would think he would get half the house as she did agree to make him joint owner and it would be extremely difficult to claim she was coerced. Maybe a SHL can help. The house will probably have to be sold.

She needs to tell him she wants half his pension, he’ll soon change his tune.

She absolutely can claim benefits before he leaves. I know because I did. And yes, they were aware I had an abuser who was refusing to leave (the police sorted that).

She needs to call Women’s Aid.

@Favouritefruits unfortunately in this situation legally she has no claim to his pension but he does have a claim to the house. Assuming from partner not husband that they aren’t married.

morally of course is a different story & I hope your friend finds a shit hot lawyer to help her

She needs a solicitor. It's going to be hard but they might be able to help her prove she was coerced into putting his name on the deeds.
Nigh on impossible, I'd say.

He is legally a joint owner of the house.
She has no entitlements to his pension savings etc as they are not legally married.
She needs to go to a solicitor.
Claim maintenance for her two children.

I have no advice other than what's been echoed above. Please encourage her to speak to a solicitor and I hope things do work out for her in the end.

He wouldn’t get 50% as he has two children who need a roof over their heads.
She needs a lot of paperwork and a decent solicitor.

What is the house value?

How much will it cost in legal fees?

has she reported abuse to the police already?

She needs to speak to a solicitor but on face of it he owns 50 % of house and gets 50% unless the deeds say otherwise

She caN claim child maintenance from him unless the kids are 50 50 with each parent

She needs to think ahead what does she live off when dc are grown up? What job can she do?

They're not married so his pension won't come into it

She needs a solicitor. The Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act has a mechanism in it whereby someone can claim the deeds do not reflect the true ownership of the property and therefore should be disregarded (it's called a Resulting Trust) It's a tricky application to make and will be expensive if she decides to engage a solicitor. Presumably she has a paper trail to show she contributed everything to the property so this will help.

His contributions to the improvements of the property may result in a court stating he should have a share but this probably wouldn't be 50/50. But there are very strict rules on what he would need to achieve to do this, and a solicitor will be able to advise.

His controlling behaviour would be beneficial showing why the courts shouldn't follow the deeds and may help in getting a occupation order but won't assist in anything else.

A solicitor may be able to advise on the occupation order and Trust work under legal aid (if she doesn't have an income) and once he is out of the house, she can then apply for benefits.

But OP has said he has contributed money to home improvements too. Would this also help his claim to half the house?

Crazycatlady's post above gives a solution that would be great if it could happen, but even if it can't she can probably get a court order to say the house can't be sold until youngest child is 18.

Then after this court order, police can be involved if he still won't move out.

The OP would be trying to argue that there is a resulting trust as she contributed all the purchase price so should get 100%. Partner didn't contribute anything so should be entitled to nothing. The deeds were only put in his name cos he is a controlling twat etc etc.,

The partner would be trying to argue either (1) the deeds are correct and they agreed to share it 50/50 regardless of whether she contributed to the entire purchase price or not, or (2) he contributed towards improvements to the property so should be entitled to a percentage share (normally representative of how much he contributed - so if he contributed £20k and the property was worth £100k, he should get 20%)

If they were married, maybe. But they are not so frankly the two children don’t come into it, other than obviously for child support.

As it is, they jointly own an asset, she essentially gifted half (or whatever portion the deeds say) to him. She can’t just take it back unfortunately.

If the relationship is abusive, was she bullied or coerced under duress into putting his name on the house? If so, she has a very strong case for it to be invalidated.

Your DF needs to go to a reputable family law solicitor. The first hour might be free . They will confirm exactly what her options are . Then woman’s aid .

She can speak to women's aid before she sees a solicitor too!

Has she reported the abuse? I believe that helps in getting legal aid.

Trying to prove he cohersed her into putting his name on is likely to be an expensive endeavour.