Beneficial ownership/interest

[foxish]

Hoping someone can help....

I was with my ex for 13 years until 2007 when he chose to leave. We had two children, born in 1996 and 2001.
I bought my house in 1998 for £100,000, using my £60,000 savings and securing a repayment mortgage of £40,000. We lived here for 10 years. His name is not on the mortgage or the land registry. I looked after the children and earned very little but helped him with his small business. He paid the £300/month mortgage. He came into over £200000 when we were together but put the money into his (always failing) business and never chose to pay the small mortgage off.
Since leaving four years ago he has paid me £600/month maintenance. He now has a new baby and a fiancee and lives in her home seeing our children every other weekend.
I have now received a solicitors letter claiming beneficial ownership. He wants £100,000 (25% of what this house is worth now). The only way I could get that money would be to sell the house where me and the kids live. I earn too little to increase the mortgage.
I know I have to see a solicitor but I'm sure they will tell me it's a grey area and to fight and we will both end up losing while the solicitors win. I also don't have the money to pay a solicitor although I know I can get an hour's free consultation.
Is he eligible? How long will it take before I end up in court? Can he force me to go to court? How much will solicitors cost?
If anyone has been in similar situation I would appreciate any information. Many thanks.

Go to your nearest citizens advice bureau. I am fairly sure he can't force a sale while your children live in the house, but if you go to the CAB I'm sure they can give you a lot of information.

Yes, you do need to see a solicitor. He could claim a beneficial interest although whether he is successful is another matter. If someone contributed directly to the mortgage instalments, or to payments for a substantial improvement to the property, the Court may infer that this must have been because there was a common intention to share the property. There are number of factors that are taken into account including the welfare of any children occupying the property.

He can claim a beneficial interest after paying the mortgage - the amount to be decided by the court if not agreed by you. Yes, he can force you to court by starting a claim and you would be best advised to instruct solicitors which would be pretty pricey. In principle, he can force a sale of the property.

Proof that you do need to see a solicitor!
No one can say at this stage that he can force a sale of the property, or that he cannot, or that paying the mortgage will mean he has an interest in the property.
To over simplify things, he'll have to show that in paying the mortgage he was doing so on the basis or an understanding (either spoken or unspoken) that those payments would mean he would thereby acquire an interest.

All of your conversations at the time are important. Also did you suddenly earn less because you went part time after the birth of the children? If so, this would put a different complexion on the payments.

Rather than saying that you cannot afford to see a solicitor, the reality is you cannot afford not to take full legal advice. Go onto the Resolution website and find someone who is an accredited specialist, or someone on the Law Society website who is a member of the Advanced Family Law Panel. Check their specialism is in this area.

presume you werent married?

you can certainly argue you need the house to house the children til youngest reaches 18 = so even if his beneficial interest is agreed, you might not need to sell now - it could be held for the children.

you need to see a lawyer it is TOLATA trusts of lands act combined with schedule one of childrens act .

find out your legal position then let him take it to court if he wishes to push it...

it is in your name and you need it to house the children.

was the 300 £ repayment thereby reducing the mortage or was it just interest?

maybe you can argue he was paying rent to you therefore has no beneficial interest.... ask solicitor...

Thanks for all your help so far.
The Resolution website was particularly useful
We weren't married and the mortgage was repayment.
I gave up my career, as a travel writer, to stay home with the kids and help him with his business (which he also ran from this house).
I am aware that I will have to find the money to get a solicitor and go to CAB. But as this is all new to me I wanted to get some more clarity on the situation, particularly if anyone knows of similar cases. I'm just not sure where this situation is heading but I do know that if it takes a lengthy court battle we will both have to pay solicitors and will both lose out....or will we?
I really want to ascertain how much (what percentage) of the house value he is eligible for. It may be better to pay him off than pay solicitors and go to court. I also would like to have some idea of how long it would take for him to get me into a court. The advice I've had suggests that it could take two years of solicitor's letters before we end up in a court - but I have no idea if this is true. It's good to know that it would be unusual for a court to force the sale of the house until my youngest is 18, but if the legal fees are massive I would have to sell anyway. I'd also like to know if his character/behaviour will be taken into account or whether that's irrelevant in these situations.
Really appreciate all the advice.

I agree negotiation and paying him off may be better and less expensive than court, but you need to do it from an informed position. A solicitor should be able to tell you where you stand and what options there are given your particular circumstances even if you then negotiate directly with your ex-partner. This is a complicated area of law and and not consulting a solicitor could be a false economy.

I (along with Collaborate and a few others on this board) am a family lawyer. I've come across this situ many times over the years, and sometimes had to issue proceedings under the Trusts of Land legislation, but NEVER actually got as far as a final hearing, as we've always settled on the basis of a lump sum payout, or nothing, depending on the circs.

There are several ways of working out what, if any, you should pay him, but essentially you think about:

1. Whether by paying your mortgage, your ex was financially disadvantaged in any way - you can counter that by saying that he had the benefit of occupation

1. Whether you had an express or implied agreement that he would acquire a beneficial interest in the property as a direct result of the mortgage payments

If the answer to 1 or 2 is yes, then you would have to think about how much you have gained by him paying the mortgage FOR THAT PERIOD OF TIME which isn't a straightforward calculation of what your house is worth now versus what it was worth then which is what he seems to be suggesting.

I'm afraid his behaviour/character are irrelevant unless they have a direct bearing on the arithmetic.

Agree with mumblechum. Point 2 is the most important. In reality, no one ever sat down with their ex to agree whether the payments they were making to the mortgage would buy them an interest in the house.

I suspect that in your case you told him that if you were going to have children then he would have to pay more into the household, and that would include the period in which you would be working part time. That, to me, is the reason he paid what he did - not because he was buying an interest in the house, but to balance the decision you made as a family fro you to sacrifice your income. His payments were to compensate you for that.

There is nothing that you have posted that makes me think he has a strong case. These cases are difficult to prosecute (for him) so I'd stick to my guns if I were you.

Also, you helping him with his business suggests a pooling of income. Not a pooling of capital.

Stick to your guns. There are plenty of cases where mothers come out of these relationships with nothing. In your case, the boot is on the other foot.

I'd be advising him against making a claim,as I simply don't think he'd win. If he loses, he gets to pay your costs. £100,000 is a hell of a lot.

Thanks all for the very knowledgeable advice.
I found this from a previous thread too - www.edwardsduthie.com/case-plan-for-trust-of-land-act-%28with-children%29.html - in case anyone's in similar situation....
I'm off to the CAB and solicitors and plan to stick to my guns!!
I will keep you posted on outcome...great to know you're all out there.
Thanks again and if there is anything else you think I should know, I would love to hear it.

Don't bother with the CAB. I do advice sessions there and they won't tell you anything you haven't seen here.

I am separating from my ex partner (not married). We have a joint tenants mortgage. We have to share the house until it is sold. If he severs the mortgage and he continues the payments from his account whilst leaving me to pick up the bills, can he claim a greater beneficial interest in the house if the mortgage is interest only?

No, but it's never a good idea to resurrect a zombie thread. Always best to click on "start new thread" near the top of the page.