Info & Advice

Unmarried and living with my partner: who gets what if we split up?

Divorce is complicated and stressful and can even be a traumatic experience for some. But as far as the family courts are concerned, it is about one thing: the division of money, property and other assets. If you are married to your partner then you have a clear status in law which entitles you to a fair share of the total assets held by you and your spouse. The contributions made by each party to the marriage should be fully reflected in the settlement, even if those contributions were not financial.

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But if you only lived together before your separation, then the situation becomes more complex. You will need to establish or negotiate the ownership of physical objects, from TVs to cutlery sets, on a case-by-case basis. Normally the person who originally bought the item is the legal owner, but if it was given as a gift, then the item belongs to the recipient. Items purchased using funds from a joint account belong to both parties.

But all this can be tricky to prove, especially after time has passed. Memories fade and receipts get lost. So, we advise cohabitants to keep as many receipts and records as they can, especially for more valuable items – just in case.

Funds will belong to the party whose name is on the bank account. But if you have a joint account, this will be considered (as you might expect) joint property, with both parties equally entitled to spend the money. Therefore, if you separate, it is a good idea to close any joint accounts as soon as you can. Otherwise, your ex could spend the entire contents of the account and even run up an overdraft or other debts, and you would be jointly liable.

Who owns our home after we split?

The most expensive item ever purchased by most people is their home. Buying property is a more complicated undertaking for cohabitees because, unlike their married counterparts, they will have no automatic right to a share of the property belonging to their partner in the event of a separation, and no clear right to inherit if their partner passes away.

For this reason, we would always advise purchasing property on a joint basis. With your name on the title deed as a co-owner of your home, it will be much easier to establish your rights if the relationship does break down, or your partner does pass away.

You may need to choose between being ‘tenants in common’ or ‘joint tenants’. This can make a significant difference if one of you dies. In the former case, you will each own a specified share of the property (not necessarily 50 per cent). In the event of one partner dying, their share would go the person specified in their will. That may be their partner, but, of course, this is not guaranteed.

By contrast, as the name suggests, joint tenants each own the whole property. If one dies, ownership of the whole property automatically passes to the other.

Tenants in common may benefit from a formal, written agreement, called a ‘deed of trust’. This sets out what would happen to the property in the event of separation or the death of one party.

Can I keep our property if my name is not on the deeds?

Even without your name on the title deeds, all may not be lost if the relationship ends and your ex decides to be difficult. In those circumstances, you may be able to establish your right to a share of the home if you can prove that you made a meaningful contribution to the purchase – by, for example, contributing to the mortgage payments. This would establish something referred to by family lawyers as a “common intention” – a provable, mutual understanding that you have a legal interest in the property, even though your name is not on the deeds. Talk to family lawyer to find out more.


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FAQs

We guide you through the basics of family law by answering some popular questions regarding divorce, financial issues and children disputes.

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Should we have an Agreement?

Being practical, the answer to that question is very often a firm YES! Answers to problems can be found elsewhere, but if there is a…

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Being practical, the answer to that question is very often a firm YES!

Answers to problems can be found elsewhere, but if there is a Living Together Agreement, properly considered, well-drafted and comprehensively dealing with all the aspects that the couple care about, then there is more certainty and less worry about ‘What if…?’

If people plan to marry, then they can make their agreement a Pre-Nuptial (‘before marriage’) one and if money is being introduced into their lives from relatives, especially as loans, then the financial interests of the third party can be agreed in such an agreement, avoiding arguments about liability for repayment, terms of loan or gift and particularly avoiding them needing to participate in any dispute later on.


We never married and now my ex wants half the house, what do I do?

Before we split up, we bought a house and we entered into a declaration of trust dealing with the ownership of the house. We never…

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Before we split up, we bought a house and we entered into a declaration of trust dealing with the ownership of the house. We never married and now my ex wants half the house. We agreed that they were only entitled to 30% of it and that is what the declaration of trust says. What now?

Firstly, you should pat yourself on the back for being sensible. A declaration of trust is one of the ways you can protect yourself when in a cohabiting relationship. The Declaration of Trust is a legally binding document which sets out the ownership of the property you bought together. The terms of that agreement should be followed, this means your ex should be entitled to 30%. If they want more they would need to go to court and apply (with a very good reason!) for more than 30%. It is very rare for the court to give someone more money than the declaration of trust says so this would only be successful in 1 case in a 1000.

If you cohabit with anyone else again, it might be a good idea to enter into a cohabitation agreement. This sets out the financial arrangements clearly so that if the relationship breaks down, you both know where you stand financially.


What about children?

We deal with children issues elsewhere and the most important thing to know is that married parents, mothers and some fathers have Parental Responsibility as…

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We deal with children issues elsewhere and the most important thing to know is that married parents, mothers and some fathers have Parental Responsibility as a matter of law.   That does not apply to children of the other partner and legal responsibility does not extend to parents’ partners, so without something in place, a parent-figure might have no legal standing.

Have a look at our section on children.


What about if one of us dies?

This is a complicated issue beyond the information we can provide here, but the particular circumstances of a family can be relevant to inheritance issues.  …

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This is a complicated issue beyond the information we can provide here, but the particular circumstances of a family can be relevant to inheritance issues.   In the absence of a Will, the laws of intestacy apply and the rights of a person only ‘living with’ somebody depend on property law, inheritance law and the terms of pension schemes and policies.

Rather than risk that lottery, it is usually better for couples living together to make Wills to say what should happen if they die.


What if we split up?

We put that as part of ‘Should we have an agreement?’ because the agreement can govern the arrangements and provide greater certainty, even if people…

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We put that as part of ‘Should we have an agreement?’ because the agreement can govern the arrangements and provide greater certainty, even if people are happily or tolerably, living together.   Agreements are not simply to say what should happen if people separate, but that is a useful aspect that can be brought in.  Who lives where and what happens about – a sale or buy-out can be dealt with in a Living Together Agreement.   Many of the provisions would follow on from ownership, financial and practical issues considered for inclusion.

‘A stich in time, saves nine’ and thinking about arrangements before things go wrong may even help that not happening.  If somebody shows themselves to be selfish and unreasonable when discussing arrangements for living together, it serves as a warning that may save a broken heart and/or financial disaster later on.  Often people are deflected by an appeal to ‘trust me’ but a little evidence of trustworthiness, such as reasoned discussion before commencing cohabitation can make that easier.

We trust that answers at least some of your questions and sets your thinking on a productive track.


Who owns what?

This is a big topic, but with informal living together arrangements, property law decides who owns what, so it is vitally important that ownership is…

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This is a big topic, but with informal living together arrangements, property law decides who owns what, so it is vitally important that ownership is properly recorded when a property is purchased.   Often property lawyers, don’t like to ask to many questions and often only want to know about auto-inheritance on death which determines whether they register it is as ‘beneficial joint tenancy’ (survivor inherits) or a ‘tenancy in common’ (no automatic inheritance).  The Land Registry proprietorship register says who owns the property and many people expect that the money they contributed or was given/borrowed from families will be respected, but that cannot be presumed.

Belongings are called ‘chattels’ in law and courts are very reluctant to spend time deciding on such things.   There is established law about objects and rights, but arguing or taking it to court is rarely productive.    Far better to have decided the principles to be applied before people split up.


Who pays for what?

Often people develop habits about how finances are run without much discussion or agreement. People have contracts with providers and the businesses get paid.  It…

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Often people develop habits about how finances are run without much discussion or agreement. People have contracts with providers and the businesses get paid.  It is between the people involved in the contract, unless there is some other law that applies, such as for Council Tax.

Far better to talk about such things and agree.

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