Living Together: Your Legal Position Explained
23 October 2007
If you are living with your partner but have not married or entered into a civil partnership then you will not automatically be able to make a general claim on his or her assets on separation.
Further you may have lived in your partner’s property for many years but if he or she dies without leaving it to you then you will have a legal battle to stay there.
If it all goes wrong can you make a claim on the property?
If you buy a house with someone else and have not entered a civil partnership or got married it is best to ask your solicitor to draw up a document saying what shares you own the property in (called a declaration of trust)
Otherwise the courts will decide your claim by using the Law of Trusts. You may be surprised to know that even though your relationship may be based upon love the law treats you just as if you the same as if you had entered into a commercial agreement with someone who you had no emotional connection with.
In Trust Law a court can say that a property is owned by someone who does not appear on the legal title. By the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 a court can say that someone who is not on the deeds still has an interest in the property. The court can also say what shares you should each get on sale and whether the property should be sold or not.
If the property is legally owned by only one of you then it will be for the other person to prove it should be held for the benefit of both. If the property is in legally owned in joint names then a 50/50 split is assumed unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.
Claims for children can also be brought separately.
Cohabiting people would be well advised to have written agreements drawn up providing for what will happen on separation as this is a complicated area of law.
Changes may be coming. The Law Commission has recommended changes putting cohabiting heterosexual couples on a stronger footing on breakdown of the relationship. There are however currently no plans for these recommendations to become law.
If you live together you should consider having a written agreement drawn up providing for what will happen on separation as this is a complicated area of law
Joanna Toch is a family barrister who is employed full time at Brachers solicitors and specialises in division of assets on breakdown of marriage, civil partnership and cohabitation disputes. She also advises on all aspects of child law. She can be contacted at joannatoch@brachers.co.uk or tel 01622 690691.
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