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Specialist Family lawyer Yvette Rooke from Salisbury and Southampton solicitors Trethowans highlights a significant case that drums home the importance of taking legal advice if you are a cohabitee. Mr Kernott and Ms Jones purchased a house and lived together as cohabitees. They separated and some 12 years later Mr Kernott brought a matter before the court to have the shares in the house determined. In the 12 years since they had separated, Mr Kernott had made no financial contributions towards the mortgage or the house. Ms Jones felt that since she had paid the mortgage and kept the house afloat for the past 12 years that she should have the lion’s share. The judge concluded that by shouldering the burden of payments, Ms Jones had “earned” the right to have more of the equity. The court agreed and decided she was entitled to 90% and Mr Kernott to 10%. Mr Kernott successfully appealed this decision with the appeal court agreeing that he was entitled to a half share of the value of the property that he jointly owned with Miss Jones. Commenting on the case, Yvette Rooke said; “What many cohabitees don’t realise is that there is no principle which allows a court to be “fair” to them both, as it aims to do in a divorce case: cohabitees do not have the same legal protection or options that a married couple have when it comes to dividing up their property. Instead, they are left with strict property laws.” “The law as it currently stands is that ownership of property follows the way in which the legal title is vested. In other words, if you choose to own a house on a joint tenancy basis, you each own 50% of the net value: that is what you are stuck with, regardless of who pays what. It matters not if you pay for a huge extension and swimming pool, which quadruples the value of the property, or if you pay all of the mortgage repayments because your partner has lost his or her job - unless you do something to make clear that 50/50 is no longer how you both want to own the property, you are entitled to 50%.” With more couples choosing to cohabit than remarry (and friends or family choosing to buy together to pool their resources) the legal advice Yvette gives is straightforward: • Don’t bury your head in the sand - think about what you want from the property if things go wrong. • Is 50/50 how you want to own the property? If not, tell your conveyancer who can record different shares on the title register. • Consider executing a Cohabitation and Separation Agreement to set your intentions out in a clear and unambiguous fashion: these agreements now carry considerable weight with the courts if there is a subsequent dispute. Yvette has extensive experience of advising people about cohabitation matters will be pleased to answer any questions you may have on this or any other family related topic. For more information and advice visit http://www.trethowans.com/
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Salisbury, Southampton, Solicitors, Cohabitee, Property,
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