I know what you are saying but what if the money paid in isn't used directly for the mortgage? I'm still not sure how you would prove someone was contributing to the mortage.
Fortunately, we sorted everything out before we lived together.
Obviously it all becomes a different ball game if we get married.
Well that's where the person making the claim has to argue their position. The courts will look to the evidence and the understanding and intention of both of the parties involved.
If y makes a regular perhaps monthly contribution to an account in x's name that the mortgage comes out of and this contribution could reasonably amount to a proportion of the mortgage then it can be argued that they have contibuted to the mortgage and have aquired an interest in the property. It can get very nasty when relationships breakdown or people die and to be honest some people just lie as to their intent. In the case of unmarried couples it would be belt and braces to get a simple document drawn up making clear the intention of both parties.
I know what you are saying but what if the money paid in isn't used directly for the mortgage? I'm still not sure how you would prove someone was contributing to the mortage.
They can show that their income or work made it possible for the household to manage financially ie would the other person have been able to afford the mortgage without their contribution. They can show that their assumption that they were accumulating equity was reasonable ie they didn't have a house of their own which was rented out or had not made seperate financial provision. Their work raising their children can be taken into consideration too - and it should be.
If a couple are together for 10 or 15 years and the original non-homeowner has been contributing 50% of the housing costs is it really fair that one of them will get about £100,000 or £200,000 equity in the house they both paid for and the other leave with nothing? Splitting the bills 50/50 in this situation is a tad unfair, I think it is sometimes fairer to get the partner to pay what a roommate would have or just the bills.
There has been some excellent advice in here thank you all.
i still have a few questions though....
Punkchick are you and your partner married?
I completely understand about the equitable interest, it seems like common sense which is why i can see that many people have advised me to see a solicitor but does it make a difference if you are married or not? (im thinking no)
Why are people saying that joint accounts are more hassle than they are worth? Is this for all accounts or just current accounts? the reason i ask this is because, as i said earlier, we are looking to get married in a couple of years and we were thinking about openeing a joint savings account for it.
We are married, but only since last year so we lived in sin :rolleyes: for 11 years prior. Our legal agreement was set up at the very beginning and we updated it, but only as far as my name and the fact we are now married so I am still protected. It doesn't make any difference. I have also stated in my Will that my initial stake in the house is to be paid to my parents in the event of my death and the OH gets everything else.
Our joint account only covers all our direct debits every month, so we put in and by the end of the month it is all gone. It is also easier as then you can't accidently spend money needed for bills. We know what ever we have in our personal accounts is our own to do as we wish. If you want to save for a wedding then I would get an account where it is not possible to withdraw from it without both signatures, this will just protect you should the worse happen. But we have never had any problems, as I said in my previous post my OH has no idea what our bills are so is just happy for me to transfer money from his account to cover whatever is needed. Sit down and have a chat together and see what both of you are comfortable with. The fact our 'joint' account is actually only in my name so not really a joint account at all just acts as such has never worried my OH but might worry others.
The fact our 'joint' account is actually only in my name so not really a joint account at all just acts as such has never worried my OH but might worry others.
Legally its not a joint account at all, but if your biils are being paid through the account and your OH was paying into it then it would be pretty obvious to court what its for.
Legally its not a joint account at all, but if your biils are being paid through the account and your OH was paying into it then it would be pretty obvious to court what its for.
Why just state what I stated but in another way???? This is what I said hence putting Joint in ''. We call it, between ourselves a joint account as it pays the bills that are in both our names, but as said in both posts it is actually just my account, but the OH doesn't mind this, we just never bothered adding his name to the account. I also have another 4 accounts that are just for me.
They can show that their income or work made it possible for the household to manage financially ie would the other person have been able to afford the mortgage without their contribution. They can show that their assumption that they were accumulating equity was reasonable ie they didn't have a house of their own which was rented out or had not made seperate financial provision. Their work raising their children can be taken into consideration too - and it should be.
If a couple are together for 10 or 15 years and the original non-homeowner has been contributing 50% of the housing costs is it really fair that one of them will get about £100,000 or £200,000 equity in the house they both paid for and the other leave with nothing? Splitting the bills 50/50 in this situation is a tad unfair, I think it is sometimes fairer to get the partner to pay what a roommate would have or just the bills.
It is up to individual couples how they sort their finances out and what seems fair to them. I explained earlier in the thread how our finances were done We agreed everything before we moved in together. I have been with my OH for over 10 years and we have lived together for more than 5 of those. He has funds that I will never access, my money is tied up in the house
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Well that's where the person making the claim has to argue their position. The courts will look to the evidence and the understanding and intention of both of the parties involved.
If y makes a regular perhaps monthly contribution to an account in x's name that the mortgage comes out of and this contribution could reasonably amount to a proportion of the mortgage then it can be argued that they have contibuted to the mortgage and have aquired an interest in the property. It can get very nasty when relationships breakdown or people die and to be honest some people just lie as to their intent. In the case of unmarried couples it would be belt and braces to get a simple document drawn up making clear the intention of both parties.
1. If one party decides to leave the other permanently, it's not unknown for them to clean out the joint account. And it's perfectly legal.
2. I don't know if it's still the case, but if one party dies, the bank used to freeze any account of the deceased party, including any joint ones.
If a couple are together for 10 or 15 years and the original non-homeowner has been contributing 50% of the housing costs is it really fair that one of them will get about £100,000 or £200,000 equity in the house they both paid for and the other leave with nothing? Splitting the bills 50/50 in this situation is a tad unfair, I think it is sometimes fairer to get the partner to pay what a roommate would have or just the bills.
We are married, but only since last year so we lived in sin :rolleyes: for 11 years prior. Our legal agreement was set up at the very beginning and we updated it, but only as far as my name and the fact we are now married so I am still protected. It doesn't make any difference. I have also stated in my Will that my initial stake in the house is to be paid to my parents in the event of my death and the OH gets everything else.
Our joint account only covers all our direct debits every month, so we put in and by the end of the month it is all gone. It is also easier as then you can't accidently spend money needed for bills. We know what ever we have in our personal accounts is our own to do as we wish. If you want to save for a wedding then I would get an account where it is not possible to withdraw from it without both signatures, this will just protect you should the worse happen. But we have never had any problems, as I said in my previous post my OH has no idea what our bills are so is just happy for me to transfer money from his account to cover whatever is needed. Sit down and have a chat together and see what both of you are comfortable with. The fact our 'joint' account is actually only in my name so not really a joint account at all just acts as such has never worried my OH but might worry others.
Legally its not a joint account at all, but if your biils are being paid through the account and your OH was paying into it then it would be pretty obvious to court what its for.
Why just state what I stated but in another way???? This is what I said hence putting Joint in ''. We call it, between ourselves a joint account as it pays the bills that are in both our names, but as said in both posts it is actually just my account, but the OH doesn't mind this, we just never bothered adding his name to the account. I also have another 4 accounts that are just for me.
It is up to individual couples how they sort their finances out and what seems fair to them. I explained earlier in the thread how our finances were done We agreed everything before we moved in together. I have been with my OH for over 10 years and we have lived together for more than 5 of those. He has funds that I will never access, my money is tied up in the house
I had my house long before my OH moved in.