Would he have a claim on my house?

[atacrossroads]

Considering asking DP to move in with me. He has no equity in his house. I have about 65% in mine.

He earns significantly more than I do and when discussed hypothetically him moving in he made it clear that he wouldn't want any share in my house should we split BUT would pay his way when living with me. He even volunteered to sign an agreement to reassure me.

If he moved in would I have to be careful that none of his money paid towards the mortgage? Would have no claim anyway? Or would he have a claim simply by living with me?

Feel terrible even posting this as he is the most genuine person I know and I am sure he wouldn't ever pull a fast one on me but just need to know before I ask him to move in!

TIA

Feeding baby, one handed typing - go and see a solicitor (many do 30 min consult for free) - they'll take details and will probably advise you to set up a tenancy agreement between the two of you. The costs of this are negligible compared to protecting your home and peacce of mind!

I'm trying to remember what i would have charged back in the day, perhaps £180 at most.

Don't need a tenancy. Just some evidence (a letter?) that what he's paying you is not intended to buy him an interest in the property, and you haven't promised one to him. Call it rent if you like, but it is a license to occupy, not a tenancy. Make sure you fund all the capital improvements.

IANAL - and would always advise you seek proper legal advice but have you thought of setting up a Declararation of Trust?

I had one in the past as i was in similar circumstances to you, which set my house up so we held it as tenants in common (rather than joint tenants) and outlined the % in which we held it....this took into consideration the capital already in it, plus how each would pay the ongoing monthly amounts and how that would be split if we did down the line. It outlined how capital and monies would be split of we separated - i think i held about 80% and he 20% from memory - we also put a clause in to say we would review every few years.

I'm going back a few years but it cost about £200-£300 from memory.

The biggest thing to remember is what is said now when you are all happy may not be the same a few years down the line if things didn't work out so it is worth protecting yourself just in case. Look on it like car insurance, you hope to not need it but are glad its there when you do.

IAAL, and there is no need to set up a trust unless OP is gifting an interest in the propety to him.

Agree with Collaborate I'd also really like to know where in the country some lawyers still do a half hour of free advice. Would be really handy to know in order to make recommendations. No where in my area has done it for years

Collaborate/MOSagain - thats really interesting. That is certainly not what i was advised and not what some of my friends and family have recently been advised.

Just wondering what would be the reason for advising to draw one up if it is not needed - is it just to make money or to be doubly sure that all is have been dotted and t's crossed?

Dont want to hijack your thread OP but this crops up alot with friends of mine so i was watching with interest.

toosoppy, collaborate and I are just lowly family lawyers so we are probably wrong!

toosoppy on re-reading your post, am I right in thinking you purchased your property when you were with your DP? In that case, its a bit different to the OP's situation where she has already purchased the property and is thinking of him moving in and just wants to make sure he does not gain a beneficial interest. Completely different.

Thanks everyone. Some really useful advice

Hi MOS we're in Saalisbury - and my last firm offered it yoo in dorset - a lot of familyy firms around this part of the world offer a free half hour consult, on the rellies board i've also notice a few women taking advantage of this service. Typos = one handed typing on stupid tablet thing, feeding my noob.

Thats interesting cfc neither of the last two firms I worked at (Surrey) offered it and don't know any others that do up here. Would be perhaps a good idea if we could start a new thread (and maybe ask MNHQ to sticky it) listing the firms that we know do offer this service? Might be really useful for some Mners who are in a really bad situation and can't afford to instruct anyone at this point.

Views?

My firm offers the first half hour free, and recently we've strated emailing detailed forms out to clients so that much less of the time is spent taking names, ages etc. The half hour is an opportunity for me to assess a client's case and tell them what I can do to help them. You don't get much done in half an hour, and the advice given is not very detailed, but at least if the client just doesn't feel comfortable they can end the appointment after 30 mins without any cost to them.

Great idea - i've been out of the game for coming up to 4 yrs now will i ever get back in?!! but will ring around if it's a go-er.

I think esp in family cases being comfortable with your sol is key and you really shouldn't have to pay to find that out. Although i've heard of people using it to conflict their exes out of certain reprrsentation!