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Divorce/separation

Here you'll find divorce help and support from other Mners. For legal advice, you may find Advice Now guides useful.

Original poster

Unmarried what can he claim?

37 replies

CookieDoughKid · 05/09/2023 19:40

My partner of 16 years wants out. He had always paid half on our family home so he is entitled to 50% of that. Does he have claim to my pension? We have two teens. We are not married and don't have anything joint, no bank accounts and all assets including family home is and always been in my name.

We have one buy to let in my name that was let after we moved out. It was bought in my name only and he paid half of everything at time we lived there including mortgage. However I'm the responsible party in managing it as a rental. Again the mortgage and title is in my name only.

Where does he stand in all this, does he have claim to my pension, we have always worked and remain financially independent from each other.

OP posts:
Isyesterdaytomorrowtoday · 05/09/2023 19:42

Legally he doesn’t have a claim on anything if it’s all in your name - morally is a different question that only you can answer?

LemonTT · 05/09/2023 19:43

If he paid and contributed towards each property he has a potential claim for a share of both. Did you agree anything, get him to waiver rights etc.

he has no claim on pension or savings.

LemonTT · 05/09/2023 19:47

There is no automatic claim. But if he made financial contributions to the property, paying mortgage or investing in it, then he has a beneficial interest. The onus is on the OP to state otherwise.

MissBridgetJones · 05/09/2023 19:48

The default legal position is that you will have no right to a share of the property, unless you can prove that you have 'acquired an interest' in the property, often by contributing to the mortgage or home improvements or by showing that there was a shared intention that you would have a share

www.family-lawfirm.co.uk/blog/

MissBridgetJones · 05/09/2023 19:49

In this article 'you' refers to your DP

areyouhavinglaugh · 05/09/2023 19:49

He doesn't have a claim on anything if his name isn't on any deeds or legally his.

Morally you could give him half of something.. but you don't have to. He is free to leave and walk as he pleases. However, he might have to pay maintenance if the kids reside with you full time.

Original poster
CookieDoughKid · 05/09/2023 21:26

Thank you . Actually yes I recall my ex signing waiver rights to the buy to let which was our previous family home. I can't actually remember how much he contributed towards it, I paid more towards the deposit. But for a few years he did pay towards the mortgage. Is there such thing as a forensic accountant to assist with who has paid what over the years?

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated and have read them all.

He's left me for someone 16 years younger....

OP posts:
Doggymummar · 05/09/2023 21:27

You should be able to see from bank statements, best to be amicable if you can

Aquamarine1029 · 05/09/2023 21:29

Why in the fuck would you hand over a single £ from the home if you don't have to? It's your home, and he would have had to pay to rent somewhere. Let him get a solicitor and pay the exorbitant legal fees if he wants to try and claim on your home. He would probably lose. Don't be a mug.

Aquamarine1029 · 05/09/2023 21:30

Doggymummar · 05/09/2023 21:27

You should be able to see from bank statements, best to be amicable if you can

She's already amicable. He's not buried in the back garden, is he?

Bookish88 · 05/09/2023 21:31

Doggymummar · 05/09/2023 21:27

You should be able to see from bank statements, best to be amicable if you can

OP doesn't need to see anything. If he wants to make a claim then it's for him to check the bank statements and make his case. In the interim, offer nothing.

toomuchlaundry · 05/09/2023 21:31

@Aquamarine1029 would you say the same if it was a woman paying towards a mortgage of a property owned by male partner?

Aquamarine1029 · 05/09/2023 21:36

toomuchlaundry · 05/09/2023 21:31

@Aquamarine1029 would you say the same if it was a woman paying towards a mortgage of a property owned by male partner?

Yes, I absolutely would. We all have agency in our lives. If you agree to make your home in a home you do not have legal claim to, you face the consequences if things go wrong.

PosterBoy · 05/09/2023 21:36

Why would you want a forensic accountant? Let him do the running.

Legally nothing is in his name. He can pay for legal advice about putting in a claim against one or both houses.

sawdustformypony · 05/09/2023 21:38

Did you agree anything, get him to waiver rights etc.

You're nice.

FrippEnos · 05/09/2023 21:38

If he can prove that he has paid towards the property (as others have said) he can make a claim.

BranchGold · 05/09/2023 21:39

I’d be nervous about handing over a share to the current property that’s wholly in your name, incase it sets a precedent in regards to the buy to let also.

I’d hang back and stay quiet. What is he saying he wants? Don’t respond, just absorb it. Don’t make assumptions or jump to making offers.

ConnieTucker · 05/09/2023 21:40

would you say the same if it was a woman paying towards a mortgage of a property owned by male partner?

a woman on here would have been told, bluntly, not to pay towards a house she had no claim on. She would have been told to marry if she was financially vulnerable.

cestlavielife · 05/09/2023 21:43

Not entitled to anything if his name is not on anything
Not married so no claim on pension

donkra · 05/09/2023 21:47

FrippEnos · 05/09/2023 21:38

If he can prove that he has paid towards the property (as others have said) he can make a claim.

He needs to have a stronger basis than having contributed towards the mortgage, though, because in the real world we call that "rent". If he e.g. paid for an extension that added 50k to the house value, now we're talking.

BranchGold · 05/09/2023 21:48

What was the original reason for his name not being on anything?

Theunamedcat · 05/09/2023 21:48

toomuchlaundry · 05/09/2023 21:31

@Aquamarine1029 would you say the same if it was a woman paying towards a mortgage of a property owned by male partner?

Yes absolutely because hopefully they would have been advised by the countless threads on here not to put there money down without an agreement or to just pay a token "rent" or half the bills while building up their own property portfolio

arethereanyleftatall · 05/09/2023 21:54

Wow, he's been very very silly to not have his name on things he's paid for, and to not be married to you.

How did that all come about?

I'm not sure I could, morally, have him walk away with nothing.

BranchGold · 05/09/2023 22:01

The only reason I can think why he’s agree to not having his name on assets he’d financed, is either because he agreed it wasn’t his asset, or that he was hoping to conceal the assets he had for a financial benefit. In which case, the moral argument is pretty tenuous.

Starseeking · 05/09/2023 22:08

If the children are staying with you, I'd wait for him to make whatever claim he feels he is entitled to, and let him incur whatever legal fees arise. A solicitor will be able to work out what amounts are due, if any, though I suspect it would be much less than 50/50.

He's not entitled to your pension given you are not married, and he has not contributed towards it (as you haven't indicated that he had in your OP).

If he hasn't moved in with this younger woman already, I'd be changing the locks the next time he leaves the house, to demonstrate you are serious about the split.