Property after marriage

[penguinsam]

When I married my partner I owned a house outright and they owned two flats with mortgages. They initially moved in with me (bigger house) but felt unhappy as it had been a previous family home. I sold it and put all the proceeds (£660,000) into the purchase of a new house which we bought in joint names and see as jointly owned. There is a mortgage on the new house which we pay jointly and equally. I assumed that the flats would therefore be considered to be shared. However my partner see them as still soley theirs. They keep all the rental income. They say because they lived in my property for a while that made it theirs whereas I never lived in their flats. I feel very upset about this.Am I just being stupid?

Of course you're not being stupid. That's not how it works

They say they need a 'safe space'. I have a severely troubled daughter from a previous marriage who makes my new partner very upset every time she comes to stay. However the flats are let so they couldn't use them as such. I love them very much but sometimes feel I'm being used.

@penguinsam
You need to get a legal consultation to fully understand your current position. Just as he needs a "safe place' so do you need " an informed space. "

Seeking legal consultation will allow you to know where you stand and how to make plans moving forward.

I have a severely troubled daughter from a previous marriage who makes my new partner very upset every time she comes to stay

Why did you get married, then? How old is your daughter?

I dont want to seperate I just want to get a peoples opinion about the financial situation regarding our property. They keep saying that its what is legal and moral and acceptable.

my daughter is 26. Should that stop me remarrying?

@penguinsam
Your daughter being 26 means that you are old enough to have given some thought to your financial position before getting married. Not having done it before getting married, you should definitely do it now that you are married.
Getting informed has nothing to do with wanting to separate, but it has everything to do with knowing where you stand.

your partner is being sly.
you're naïve for not having sorted this out prior to marriage.
depending on where you live, generally once married (unless legal documents were signed; often called a prenup) all your assets and all his assets are combined and legally belong to both of you.
because he is telling you otherwise, i would suggest you speak to a lawyer so that you are better aware of the situation (not for divorce) because should he pass away/become incapacitated you need to know.

Im in UK. I don't think property owned before becomes jointly owned upon marriage.

@penguinsam i believe it does.

i might be wrong (not the first time) still worth seeing a lawyer in case you need to administer the property on his behalf.

Exhibit A as to why anyone with substantial assets shouldn't marry. Sogh.

@penguinsam

If you get proper legal advice you will be able to say" I know " rather than "I think."

Thanks for the reponses. I will explore the legal situation but I am really more interested in what others think of the situation morally.

Both morally and legally, assets become jointly owned upon marriage (English law, I believe Scottish law is different). You could try posting on the legal matters board here?

Which part of the UK are you in?

Did you take any legal advice prior to getting married and buying the jointly owned property?

Regardless, I think you will find that the legal obligation trumps any moral argument here.

I'm in England.

@penguinsam I think that morally whoever pays for an item or object should be the owner of that item or object.

Morally he doesn't have a foot to stand on, nor would any sane person agree that he did.

Legally you have been completely and utterly naive and I suggest you get legal advise very quickly. The flats should have been made a join property at the same time the new house was purchased jointly. Or, the new house should have been kept soley in your name.

Note the following from a legal stand point, so you MAY have a claim on his property, but you should have massively protected your assests better than you did:

Even if one party purchased the home before the marriage and that party's name is on the title, it can still be treated as a matrimonial asset if the other party demonstrates that their financial needs cannot be met without receiving funds from the sale of the property.

Legally the flats are a martial asset. Though would depend on how long you had been together/married upon divorce.

However theirs is a bit of a difference between to the two properties. Your shared homes mortgage is paid by both of you.

But you haven’t said if you pay half the mortgages on the rentals. If your spouse is paying all the mortgages on those house and then I think they should be keeping the rental income.

That doesn’t mean that if you divorce, that they wouldn’t be considered joint

Does the income from the rentals go into the “pot” to cover mortgage on your jointly owned home, bills etc? Or is it squirrelled away separately?

By rental income I am referring to Net income after mortgages, repairs etc.

No its kept entirely by my partner

You should have had a Trust Deed drawn up when you purchased to protect the money you put in.