Unmarried separation help!!

[kezbom77]

My partner left the family home at the beginning of May. I have been paying all of the bills and can continue to do so. However, as we got into arrears (which I am slowly sorting now he's gone!!!) I cannot transfer the mortgage into my name. He has seen a solicitor and has told me that although I am entitled to stay in the house until the kids are 16, when I eventually sell he will be entitled to half of the value then! Even though I will have been paying mortgage etc for 12 years on my own! Surely this can't be right?

It can most certainly be right if his name is on the mortgage.

Sorry, but I think you need to see a solicitor yourself.

It may very well be right- remember, you made a business arrangement with this man in buying the house. To be honest, the state of your actual relationship with him (i.e. whether or not you're in a relationship with each other) may be irrelevant- it's what you agreed at the beginning when buying house that counts.
A recent case in the press highlighted this.

If I remember correctly, a couple had bought a house in joint names but split up.
The man left and did not pay mortgage for the seventeen years he and former partner had been apart.
The judge declared that whether or not they were still together or not was not relevant- what mattered was that they'd bought house together and had done nothing to say that they no longer wished to be joint owners. Therefore, they were joint owners.

my sister in law was in a similar situation,but they were married,dont know if this makes any difference,they have been apart now for 7 years and once they sell the house he will only get part of what he paid,as he hasnt contributed towards the mortgage since,so its best you get some advice and see what is going.

I keep in touch with both of them as they have shared access of the girls,and he told me he would only get so much,so its not just her saying it,hope this helps.

But he is also liable for the mortgage for all that time whilst he name remains on it.

How much equity is in the house? Can you buy him out?

lilmamma I think marriage would have made a major difference. Perhaps a better legal mind than mine can explain it, but I'm sure it matters.

Marriage makes a difference because there is usually a financial settlement on divorce.

Thanks for replies. Think I need to see my own solicitor. Would love to buy him out but as yet cannot afford it!

TBH you may be better selling it now and splitting the equity if he's not prepared to carry on paying half of the mortgage in the meantime.

Whilst you would have the benefit of living in it you would probably have all the responsibility for the maintenance for the property so it isn't such an unfair arrangement as you may think.

Another alternative is to move yourself into rented and let him pay for the whole mortgage and you get 50% of the property when he sells although if you claim housing benefit for any length of time you will eventually be forced to sell the property or move back into it.

What a nightmare - hope it all works out ok

I owned a house with an ex - and I eventually had to move out and he stayed in the house.

Legally I would have owed him half the mortgage for all the time that he continued to live there - that was part of our legal wrangle.

(In the end my solicitor argued that I didn't have to pay because ex was violent and had pretty much refused me access to my own house).

So - in your position, if you jointly own the house, and he moved out voluntarily, then he definitely is still liable for half of the mortgage.

Just get solicitors advice but you should be ok I think.

you need a solicitor. you can draw up a separation agreement with regard to the house/finances who pays what.