Me Ex has has left me with all his debts

[TTudor]

My ex (not married) left me in a joint home, in a real mess, so bad the house was deemed not safe for 2 kids to live in. and stopped paying half the mortgage and just 16 p/w maintenance for 2 Children.

I met someone new he helped me make the house safe, but still not in a position i could sell it to get away from my ex. I got InTouch with my ex and told him my new partner was willing to help me with the house but wasn't happy to knowing his name was on the mortgage, my agreed he didn't want any of the profits from the sale if my partner want to help me. after 5 years my partner has invested time and money to help me renovate the property my ex now wants half.

If you are joint tenants, each tenant (owner) has equal rights to the whole property if you are tenants in common then each tenant in common can hold a different share of the property. Usually you will be joint tenants unless you specified otherwise when purchasing.

so you think its no worth fighting?

You can’t fight that he is a co-owner of the property and entitled to his share, nor that he owes another man who doesn’t own the property money without demonstrating there was an agreement regarding that. You can address the charges on the property and that they are your ex’s debts and not your responsibility, which a solicitor will be able to advise on.

A text message doesn't over-ride the ownership.

It's not enough for him to say he doesn't want anything from the sale he would have needed to give up his ownership rights through a legal process.

In the same way that a text message wouldn't over-ride a will.

So yes he will have a claim. It doesn't matter who paid the mortgage.

It was a bit foolhardy of your new partner to put money into a house that wasn’t his.

You ex legally owns half the house.

Only a solicitor can advise you how to proceed now, but your new DP but very foolish to renovate a house that wasn't his. Any transfer of ownership should have been done properly at the time.

I'm not sure you have full information about the debts tbh. Is the CCJ in your name or his? Just because it’s at your address, doesn’t mean it becomes yours? Also, it’s very unlikely that HSBC have done a ‘secured’ loan. That’s very different to a loan taken out at your address.

ok thank you for your help.

get proper legal advice about the house and the debts. Citizens Advice is a good first stop if you are short of money.

You need to know who has got liens on your house, you may find that even if you gave your ex the house you may have debts from this property that you are liable for @TTudor

Jason has been a bit silly doing this without a legal contract in place.

Sell the house, split the proceeds after the mortgage is repaid.
Ex pays off his debts [not your problem]
You pay Jason from your share unless your solicitor can find a way of calling a text message a legal agreement that it's a loan, but that would be a loan to you and your Ex.
Or you leave Jason to learn a hard lesson and find somewhere new to live.

It sounds unlikely that you can appeal to your EX's better nature.

What's happened to the property if you are living elsewhere?