Partner moving in. How do I protect myself financially?

[luisa009]

My partner may be moving into my mortgaged home. I own the house solely and obviously all bills are in my name.
He's been very clear that he wouldn't seek any claim to my property in the event we split. He'd pay towards monthly bills and council tax but I'd remain the sole mortgage holder, I wouldn't want to risk putting him on the mortgage (just in case we split).
I have a child living with me, and partner understands and respects the fact that I want my child to have the house (when I die).
Is there any kind of legal agreement that my partner and I could sign, whereby he lays no claim to my property or my estate in the event of us splitting or if I pass away. Please advise :) Thanks!

He's not your husband. He has no claim on your property.

I'd go a solicitor for advice. I think you may need a cohabitation agreement drawn up.

Do not put him on the mortgage

Do not marry him

Write a will with a solicitor leaving everything to your child

How long have you and your partner been together

Good god I truly worry about the state of people's general knowledge in this country.

You do know that when women live with men have their children and don't get married, they're entitled to nothing of the man's house unless they've been jointly paying for it.

A few bills doesn't entitle a man to a share in somebody's house.If they're not married to them.

Quite honestly, I don't think you should be moving in with this man. Hardly romantic is it.

I just don't think somebody should live rent free. It's big of him to contribute towards the bills. What you mustn't do is let him contribute to any of the house repairs. However I would have a rental agreement so I don't care how unromantic that sounds. I don't see why he should be living anywhere without paying rent. His reaction to this will tell you everything. While you might want him to live with you there will be days when you really wish he didn't and you need financial recompense for those days.

How old is your child? How do they feel about your boyfriend moving into their home?

An old Aunt of mine died 13 years ago. She had outright owned her home for many decades and had written her Will very clearly saying that her children were to inherit everything

When she died she’d had someone living with her for 5 years. He contested the Will, saying he was financially dependent on her - he won. My cousins had to hand over half of the money that the home sold for

Be careful

Very savvy if you get a Solicitor involved to create an Agreement (Cohabitation as mentioned above?). My niece did this and it was very sensible.

How long have you been dating?

Would get legal advice before deciding about him moving in.

Living ‘rent free’ would financially benefit him. The financial risks seem mainly to you and your DC.

Was that in the UK @TeapotCollection ? That seems shocking!

I wouldn’t move in together. Things could still turn very nasty if you split up and he could try and rinse your child for every penny if you died.

Continue to live separately. Your kid doesn’t need a strange man in the house and you don’t need the financial worry.

Yes, in England. Was indeed shocking

Be careful. Have a friend who was cohabiting in his partner’s house for about four years. Partner died suddenly, inestate. The family (legal next of kin) wanted to sell the house. Friend protested. The whole thing took about three years to sort and friend ended up with a pile of money from the eventual sale.

You need for him and you to sign a cohabitation contract. Do not take any money from him for repairs to the house or anything else that makes the house more valuable.

Why do you feel it's OK for him to live rent-free?

I love how quickly people jump in to point out how wrong other people are while spouting incorrect advice. It is absolutely not guaranteed by not being married you/they have no claim, constructive and resulting trusts can both arise giving a claim to property without marriage (& these aren’t necessarily the only routes). Trusts would generally require some form of financial contribution aimed directly at the house but you should get proper legal advice not randoms on forums who think they know what they’re talking about.

He pays you by SO/DD and has it described as rent.

Thanks for the replies on this so far, I appreciate your tips and advice.
Just to clarify, the plan wouldnt be for him to live here rent free. He'd be paying towards the bills, 50/50.
There's been no suggestion of him living here rent free. I'd lose my universal credit and council tax discount for single occupation so of course he'd need to pay at the very least to cover these losses that I'd incur.
For those who ask about my child, we've been together for over 4 years so my child and he already get on well and child is very fond of him. He's be no means a stranger. I'm fact, he sometimes takes my child out alone and they get on like a house on fire. Child likes their time together and he makes a lot of effort with my child.

Why do people think paying half the bills is fair, that’s still the equivalent of rent free,

if you didn’t own the house, how much would the rent be? Would be fair if he paid a proportion of that, bearing in mind your child lives there. Then a proportion of the bills.

Whether it's fair to have him pay your lost UC depends on how much that is. If it's £1500 a month then you're asking him to keep you and get nothing in return so if I were him I'd run a mile. If it's just £100 a month then it's understandable you'd want to avoid being less well off. However you need to make sure he's not well off too - for example how much would he pay if he stayed where he is and doesn't move in with you. Is he renting somewhere?

Most people treat their mortgage payments as a bill.

If you really want to live together, and are ready to make that commitment to your child, sell up and buy a place together. Your child deserves that stability.
if you are not willing to do so, you are not ready.

Your mortgage company should have a firm for him to sign.

This is tricky as mumsnet gets in a bit of muddle over these threads. He shouldn’t be able to claim any share of your house, so that means he shouldn’t pay any part of the mortgage but neither should he live “rent free” as that makes him a cocklodger.

as others have said, he should pay his fair share but get no claim on the house (however if he was a woman that would also be classed as unfair on him)

I don’t understand why you have to move him into your house?