What happens now with the house/mortgage?

[ninebiscuits]

Hi,
I'm very recently separated from my partner, we are not married. We have 1 DC. He has moved out to parents while I remain in the house with DC.
We are both named on the mortgage, but who is liable for what now....
I am planning on seeking legal advice next week, just wanted to ask here to get an idea of what could happen.
For info, I can afford the full current repayment and bills etc on my own.

Thanks for any advice.

Do you own as joint tenants or tenants in common
if joint tenants you own 50% each
if joint tenants it will be 50% unless you hold in unequal shares via deed

in terms of the mortgage both parties are joint and severally liable - so each one is responsible for 100%. You’ll need to agree between you whether he continues to pay or not or how long etc but it’s usual for the person staying to pick up all the bills there,

ultimately you’ll then need to decide what to do with the house which will largely depend on what equity Is tied up and whether you can buy out his share, if not, the house will be sold. If yes and you can take on the mortgage 100% in your own name and give him his share then you can look to do that

have you had any discussions ?

Thank you so much for your reply. We own 50% each. We haven't really discussed yet, as I had no idea what I should expect. But this has helped and given me some food for thought about how we move forward.

As stated, in the immediate aftermath of the split you need to discuss the best way forward. In time you will need to either sell or one of you buys the other out.

Atm both of you are responsible for paying the mortgage. That’s the terms of your loan. But both of you are entitled to live there. If you want to live there alone you need to make good history loss. Most people do that by covering the full mortgage.

It should also be recognised that he has capital tied up in the house as long as it remains unsold. This is a disadvantage to him and an advantage to you. At the very least even though if are paying the full mortgage he should continue to maintain his share of ownership. This means his tied up capital can grow.

For many reasons the quicker you break the financial ties the better. That means you can both be independently responsible for yourself and your child. The only reason not to is if this means you child would be homeless. Then you might have to compromise on when the house is sold.

You could pay 100% and ask that your extra 50% from now to sale / buyout is taken into account when the equity is shared. He can claim occupational rent for not being able to exercise his right to live there - but this is weakened by fact he has no rent to pay at his parents. If he was saving a deposit and then rented it would be fair for you to pay 100% mortgage to reflect he’s had to pay for a second property.

His cash is still tied up in a property meaning he can’t invest elsewhere - hence he retains his % even if he’s not there /paying. That’s how it works

How much equity do you have in the house? How much did you each put in as a deposit? Can you afford to buy him out?

Generally speaking most couples put their house on the market so they can sever their financial relationship. If one or other of you has the funds you can buy the other out of course. Until it’s sold you are jointly liable for the mortgage.