Unmarried Couples.

The House

More and more couples now live together without getting married, but, no matter how long the relationship, the law still effectively treats them as separate individuals with no rights or liabilities to each other if the relationship ends (unless they are same sex couples who have entered into a formal civil partnership).

This has some far reaching consequences for such couples (of whatever sex or combination of sexes), particularly in relation to their home (most people's biggest asset).The majority of couples fail to consider this until after the relationship has ended.

Unlike married couples , unmarried couples have no basic rights to their partner's property or to maintenance if they split up. Basically what is his is his, what is hers is hers, and what is jointly-owned needs to be divided.

Unmarried woman wins share of former partner's home

A judge has awarded a woman a £100,000 share of her former partner's home even though the couple were not married and she made no financial contribution to the mortgage.

The ruling could benefit thousands of other unmarried couples who under the current law have no special rights to each other's property when a relationship breaks down.

Elayne Oxley, 51, shared a home in Kent with Allan Hiscock, 54, for 16 years before she claimed a share of the property when he ended the relationship.

In a complex 50-page judgment Lord Justice Chadwick ruled that Ms Oxley is entitled to a 40 per cent share of Mr Hiscock's £232,000 home in Hartley, near Dartford .

Ms Oxley told the court that although she had not paid the mortgage she had contributed towards food and utility bills. She hailed the ruling a victory for unmarried women.

"Women who live with their partners assume they are protected but the law doesn't recognise the term 'common-law wife'. My case will prevent other women enduring the anguish I have been put through," she said.

Family law experts were more cautious. Nigel Shepherd, a spokesman for the Family Solicitors Law Association, said: "The case does not alter the fact that you do not get an entitlement to a property owned by your partner simply by virtue of living with them. There is still no such thing as a common-law marriage."

But he added: "Although not a landmark decision as such, the judgment clarifies the approach to be taken in this type of case and represents a more generous and fairer interpretation of what remains an extremely complex area of law."

Ms Oxley was working with social services when she met Mr Hiscock, an engineer at Dartford power station. "I wanted to be married to him but he didn't want to for tax reasons," she said.

Mr Shepherd said the case showed that there was a real need for a change in the law reflecting the rights of unmarried couples who lived together.
 
 
This applies to the home as well. Therefore if a house is bought in joint names (either as beneficial joint tenants, or as tenants-in-common - click here for more info on these terms) then it should be split accordingly on separation, and either party can force a sale of the property to realise their share. If  the parties are contributing unequally to the purchase price, or to payments on the property, then this should be reflected by being designated as tenants-in-common and holding unequal shareholdings (say 70% and 30%), rather than the equal shareholdings of beneficial joint tenants.

If the property is in the sole name of one party then basically it remains that person's property on separation, unless the other party can establish that there was a common intention that they would be entitled to a share in the property. How do they do this? Here are a few examples

It may have been agreed in a simple conversation (proving it tends to be the problem!), or in writing between the parties at some time 
If the other party has directly contributed to the purchase price the courts are likely to accept that at least part of the property should have been in their name
If there has been an "understanding" between the parties and the non-owner has acted to their detriment as a result (eg contributed to mortgage repayments, paid household bills, or, perhaps, sold their own property) then the courts may agree they should share in the property. 
The parties can, of course, come to an agreed settlement, but if not, such disputes can become messy and expensive.

It may not sound too romantic, but it is quite legitimate for unmarried couples to enter into an agreement when they start living together to try and cover any disputes on property if they should split up. Its worth considering. You could buy a basic pack here (just click to go there).

If you own your property as joint tenants and your relationship breaks down, one of the first things that you should do is to sever that joint tenancy. This converts the joint tenancy into a tenancy in common, which means that you will have a distinct share in the property that will NOT automatically pass to your former partner/spouse.

Cohabitation

If you are living together, but are not married, you may still have legal rights and responsibilities.

Legal changes are being considered by the government for gay and lesbian couples in respect of property and pensions.

Couples with children may need help in arranging responsibilities for their care and upkeep. We can provide you with the latest legal advice and the legal support you need to achieve a fair settlement.