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?

So, your partner has the equity in two properties which create an income that they don’t share, plus half the equity in your joint home

You have half the equity in your jointly owned home (and by the sounds of it actually contributed more than half of the deposit for that property out of the sale of your previous home?) and……. Err that’s it.

Of course this is not fair.

Have you made Wills after your marriage (any previous wills are rendered obsolete by the marriage)- if not, do so

Otherwise all you can do is try to have a grown up conversation pointing out the inequity if your current situation with a view to sorting things out legally so you are better protected should you split in the future

It looks as though you have given him half of your money/assets, but he has kept all of his. I agree with seeking legal advice, at least so that you know where you stand. Morally, he has been very unfair.

They say that the money used to purchase our new house was joint because we lived together in the house which was sold and therefore it belonged to us equally. Slightly different argument about the flats. It's an 'all that's yours is mine and all that's mine is mine' situation.

Do you share your income?

Also did they put anything into your joint home. Any money at all?

They won't share income. We have a joint account for the main mortgage and bills and household expenses. We both earn about the same and pay equally into the joint account.

Op, he saw you coming...

Please contact a legal professional and get some clarity around your assets. As best if you divorce, you'll keep the house and he'll keep his flats or if he's as cunning as you say he is (he so is), he could almost all of it for himself. I am not a divorce/law/finance professional

Right. So you don’t share income.

The rental of those properties that they pay the mortgages on is part of their income.
They do pay the same as you into the joint pot. I don’t see an issue with that.

The flats will only become an issue if you divorce. In which case they will be part of the marital assets regardless of your partners pov.

They received £50,000 from a parent and that was their contribution to the new house. Purchase price was £900,000 plus costs and tax, I put in the full value of sale of 'my' house £660,000 the rest was mortgage.

And you didn’t protect your deposit? Did you even look into it?

How long have you lived together and how long married?

we've been together for 7 years and married for 4

A quick word with a solicitor. Keep track of where the rental income is going.... you are entitled to share that

@mightymam

Divorce laws vary within states and countries. There is no universal law governing property distribution. I am from the US , and in my state pre marital assets do not automatically become a part of the marital assets, and that makes sense in that the other spouse has not contributed anything to the ownership, purchase , or creation of those assets. Things purchased or acquired during the course of the marriage are considered marital assets.

Why should the OP want an ownership interest in his 2 flats? Depending upon laws in the jurisdiction where she and the spouse live, upon divorcing his premarital assets might be considered to be a part of the marital assets . it is not morality that governs this process; ultimately it is geography that governs the process.

Quite simply, morally his living in it at the point you married didn't suddenly make it half his.

Legally it entitled him to a possible claim for a portion.

Then you went and fucked yourself by putting it all in a joint property with no protection with a man who sees yours as his and his as his.

And?

If you'd bothered to read the OPs posts, she's made very clear she lives in the UK where the laws are very different to where you come from. In the UK, all assets go into a joint 'pot' upon marriage unless there's a watertight prenup in place and even then, the latter is sometimes not worth the paper it's written on. I based my advice on what I know of UK law and stand by that.

Did you read any of the OP? Perhaps because the OP has effectively signed over £600k of premarital assests into a joint asset without thinking it through, but her DH is not contributing the same of his premarital assets?

So you put the whole of your money £660k into a joint property yet he keeps the rental from the two flats in his name and thinks this is ok?

What's the value of his flats and are they solely in his name?

He's being a cheeky fuck here. You need to protect yourself (or your kids) and seek legal advice now to protect your money.

Yes. I'm sorry to say you have been taken for a major ride.

Please get the best lawyer you can afford. And if you should, sadly, receive an inheritance while still married, for god's sake keep it separate from any joint accounts.

Why would you want to be with someone like him?

If you were still on your first house then the fact it was yours before marriage would have been relearn - however now you are married and purchased a joint property I sadly think you’ve signed over 50% - that said - are you tenants in common or joint owners? I would think that at some point you need to protect your deposit and should do so before things turn sour.

I would say - we need to sort this out legally so there’s no issue if one of us dies -

You will sign to say those are his flats and he must agree to you owning 80% of the bigger property.

That way it’s fair -

Did your solicitor not advise you to 'ring fence' the value of your old property? Mine did and that was only for £15k which is nothing compared to yours. Morally your dh is very wrong. He doesn't see you as an equal, what he is suggesting so play isn't fair. I would be getting legal advise quick. Does he include the rent he gains from the flats as his 'income'?

And also right a will that your money goes to your dc's. He's doesn't need to know this in fact don't tell himZ

I made a similar mistake. I was idealistic, in more ways than one. My husband was from a modest working class family, I was from a comfortable middle class family. I partly saw this as redistributing the advantages I'd had in life. (If that was patronising, it was meant in good faith).

I put down a deposit for 24% of our house together (because in my 20s I was square, saved and bought one house, then moved and bought a bigger one.) soon after I inherited some money, and got another lump sum when my parents downsized. Net result: in a couple of years I had "bought" 2/3rds is the house. When I earned more than him, I paid a greater share of our bills.

What did my husband do? He used our left over wedding funds to pay off an overdraft - without telling me; took out a second mortgage on the house and then a loan to buy a car which more than a decade later is still in bits; and has repeatedly lied to me about his friendships with women. Among other things. He has very good qualities too. But when I consulted a divorce lawyer I was told that he would get half the house.

The law exists to navigate these emotional problems in the fairest way possible. It won't always feel that way, but the intention should be fair or the law needs to change.

But I am with you heart and soul in feeling how morally wrong your DSp is being. I have to say, the length of time you have been together will make a difference, and could protect your investment in the house too. You must ask a lawyer.

If you don't mind me saying, I'd also thing very, very carefully whether this is a person you want to spend your life with.

On a slightly different note if you own the house as joint tenants it will automatically go to your partner on your death bypasssing any will.

If you want to leave your daughter your share of the house (even if the best you can get is half) you need to own the house as tenants in common and have a will that leaves your share to your daughter. I think you should consider this as your partner would still have their half of the house plus their two rentals.

Your partner does not sound nice. Just like you said what’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine. If you divorce I think it would all be in the marital pot because I don’t think a judge would agree the previous sentiment is reasonable but if you don’t get things in place when you die your daughter could be left with nothing.

I think the law is if there is no will partner gets the first 250 then 50% of anything after that and kids share the other 50%. However if your partner says your house is your only asset and it is owned as joint tenants it will automatically pass to them and that will be that.

If they don’t change their tune I would be tempted to divorce in an attempt to at least get my 660k back - it is that serious. How could you marry/buy a house and not protect your child’s inheritance?

It sounds like your partner is trying to have their cake and eat it too. On a personal level, I actually agree that pre-marital assets shouldn't be part of the shared marriage pot (though I don't think this is necessarily the law in the UK), but if this is really what your partner believes, then they wouldn't be trying to scam you out of your only asset.

I would get legal advice and ring-fence the deposit and share you have in the jointly owned property. Also, as others have suggested, sort out your will ASAP, so that your daughter is protected.

Well you’ve been pretty silly to not protect your deposit, you’ve basically gifted this person 300k whilst they keep their own property to themselves. No, it’s not different just because they lived in your house first, living somewhere doesn’t give you automatic ownership over it. They’ve conned you.