Plan ahead to prevent mortgage war with an ex partner

Ask the expert: Andrew Milnes of the Mortgage Advice Bureau in BingleyQ: I bought a cottage in Chapel Allerton in 2009. In 2016, my girlfriend moved in with me as she had previous issues with her credit history, I didn’t add her to the mortgage.Instead, we agreed that she would pay me a small amount every month towards the bills. We got engaged in 2018, however things have been really difficult between us over the last few months, and tensions over Christmas were the final straw, so we’ve split up and she’s moved out. She has now written to me saying that I need to pay her a substantial amount of money as she has rights to the house because we’ve lived together for over two years and she’s ‘paid towards the mortgage’. We don’t have any children together and although we were engaged, we never actually got married. Is this correct?A: Sadly, it’s not uncommon to hear about couples deciding to go their separate ways over the festive period. In fact, the first working Monday of January is often referred as “Divorce Monday” by solicitors who practice family law, as it’s apparently one of the busiest days of the year for new instructions.Andrew Foulds, family law solicitor at AWB Charlesworth Solicitors in Bingley says, “The term “common law husband or wife” doesn’t legally exist, regardless of how long a couple have been living together.” Therefore, unless an ex-partner was on the mortgage and registered title of the property, they have no legal ownership. However, an ex-partner may still be able to assert a beneficial interest within the property. These are often complex claims and the ex-partner would have to demonstrate there was an intention between the two parties for the partner making the claim to obtain an interest in the property. Whilst this would generally need to be more than helping towards general housekeeping, it may include contributions they’ve made in the past to the mortgage.”We always advise couples to engage with a solicitor to draw up a co-habitation agreement prior to moving in together, particularly if one party is moving into a property that the other already owns. This can specify whether the partner moving in will obtain any interest in the property through the contributions they make, as well as documenting how much each party pays every month towards the mortgage and bills.These agreements can also note how the property and any other assets are divided upon separation. By putting this sort of agreement in place, both partners are protected financially against the situation you findyourself in.For those who currently own a property and have a partner who is moving in, there’s an option to add them to the mortgage if both parties agree to do so. In these cases, we would highly recommend that both parties use a solicitor to draw up a Deed of Trust, documenting how much each party is contributing to the mortgage and bills on a monthly basis or as a one off payment of capital, who owns what share of equity in the property, as well as agreeing who would be entitled to what funds in the event that the relationship ends.If you’re adding a partner to an existing mortgage it’s a good idea to take advice from a mortgage adviser as this will, in the majority of cases, mean that you need to apply for a new joint mortgage together. There is also the possibility that the partner who is being added to the mortgage may be liable to pay Stamp Duty.

*Mortgage Advice Bureau, Bingley, tel: 01274 568832, www.mortgageadvicebureau.com