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Legal matters

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selling the house who is entitled to what

10 replies

Photoliciousstudios · 20/03/2018 20:46

Me and my ex bought the house in 2008. I had 2 boys with him and a daughter from a previous. We got our deposit from keyworkers he was a policeman and I paid all solicitors fees and furniture for the house. In 2013 he lost his job in the police and due to lies we split. I stayed in house with my 3 children taking over all bills. He didn't pay maintenance until 2 years ago. This is still not frequent. My new partner and I would like to buy a house together and need to sell my property. My ex has stated he wants half the house. Is this correct? When we split he took out a loan in both our names without my consent and has failed to pay this for the past 4 years and I know have a charge over the property. Can anyone please advise if 50/50 is correct. Thank you

OP posts:
Karatema · 20/03/2018 20:50

I'm not a solicitor but if he's not paying maintenance then I would suspect 50/50 is not reasonable.

Photoliciousstudios · 20/03/2018 20:53

He has started to pay more frequently but its not consistent. I work full time and pay for before and after school care to keep the bills paid.just wondered where it stands legally with splitting the home.

OP posts:
Allthebestnamesareused · 20/03/2018 20:59

Were you married? If not then he is actually entitled to 50% of the equity legally if you didn't have a deed stating that shares were different.

Is the property still in your names as joint tenants? If so, sever the tenancy asap so that you are tenants in common otherwise if something were to happen to you he would automatically inherit the house.

Allthebestnamesareused · 20/03/2018 21:01

As regards the loan you should have stated that he had fraudulently taken out the loan in your name at the point they applied for a charge over the property or when you became aware of it! Did you?

Photoliciousstudios · 20/03/2018 21:15

I did phone the company they sent all paper work out and signatures are perfect. I couldn't afford a solicitor so will have to pay half the loan which was £7500 but no its £15000 due to no payments and interest

OP posts:
Photoliciousstudios · 20/03/2018 21:17

*now its worth £15000

OP posts:
Speedy85 · 20/03/2018 21:25

Were you married or not?

If not, whose name(s) is the house in? If both of you, how is it held (joint tenants, tenants in common?)

prh47bridge · 20/03/2018 21:39

If you were married you need to divorce and get a financial settlement. The courts will want to see a fair division of the assets. That is not necessarily 50% each. It depends on a range of factors.

If you were not married and the house is in joint names the starting point is that he is entitled to 50% of the equity. You may be entitled to more than 50% if you have paid for improvements to the property or paid off some of the capital in the mortgage since separation.

If you were not married and the house is in one name only, that person is entitled to all the equity in the house. However, the other may be able to establish a claim against the house if they have paid for improvements or contributed financially, although that claim may not be as much as 50%.

Whether or not he is paying child maintenance is irrelevant.

You need to get proper legal advice.

Photoliciousstudios · 21/03/2018 07:46

Both our names were on the mortgage. We were not married Ive paid the mortgage repayments for past 5 years. He has not contributed towards the house in this time

OP posts:
Collaborate · 21/03/2018 08:22

He will be entitled to half, out of which he'll have to pay his debt. That however depends upon you demonstrating to the court that he had, at the time of separation, sole use of the £7k loan. You would have to decide whether, for the sake of £3500, it's worth going through the trouble and expense of court proceedings.

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