EddScott

Living with my GF for 5 years. No bills paid by her and most of her bills and store cards paid by me so no financial contributions in those 5 years towards running of home (we have a 4 year old daughter too).

Mortgage is soley in my name. Everything else in my name.

If we were to split, is she entitled to half the house? Can't seem to get a straight answer.

If she is, if I sell the house to a family member does that break her entitlement?

All hypothetical at the moment

lightning101

In scotland, she wouldn't get ****

Bakerman

I think living together for +2years gives her common law status which in simple terms means yes. When you say you have paid for most things bills/mortgage etc you have to be able to prove it.

You absolutely need to take professional advice on this.

Karl 227

Isn't she classed as your common law wife and therefore entitled to half of everything? I think the fact that you've paid for everything would mean bugger all.

De Warrenne

I think its having the daughter that will qualify you mate - sorry

mad_dr

As far as I am aware - she "ain't got **** coming". If there's no signed agreement, I don't believe that she has any claim to the property or it's contents unless she could prove that she had contributed financially.

OllyK

In short - no, there is no common law wife concept in England - I think Scotland may be different.

I rang the Citizens' Advice Bureau before I moved my partner in with me on a similar basis and they said, if she had been making a financial contribution she could make a claim to recover that but not just a 50%

If her name is on the mortgage or deeds then it's a different matter. Since we have bought a house together but we have a "trust deed" I think it's called which states that I won 80% of the house due to me putting in the value from my previous house and her, well not putting anything in really.

ETA: didn't see the daughter bit, you may well end up getting mugged by the CSA to the equivalent of more than half the house anyway.

Karl 227

I've learnt something new today, thanks Olly

*Phones girlfriend in the UK, tells her to go swivel*

ScoobywagonGl

With reference to having a daughter I was always under the impression that you can't kick her out with a child?
I know that you have to provide for that child until she is 16 and was aware that you have to provide a home for her.
I was also under the impression that if you were living with someone for more than 6 months you are classed as married in the eyes of entitlty (<made that word up) for half of the house!

OllyK

I always thought it was "real" until I did some digging:

And a BBC link that mentions the Advice Now web site on this issue:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...st/3894353.stm

OllyK

Indeed - but not the mother. You can kick the mother out, but you may have to let the daughter stay or cover the costs of where she lives. I suspect this bit will need to go to court to be resolved.

No - there is no concept of "common law spouse" in English / Welsh law. If you look at the Advice now link above - Scotland and NI are very different apparently

OllyK

This page on parental responsibility when the parents are not married may be useful as well.

ScoobywagonGl

Thanks Olly what a clever man you are

EddScott

If it came to it I'd be quite happy to kick the mother out and keep the nipper, but as we all know fathers seem to have less rights than those on death row.

It does seem to be a grey area. I'm wondering if it might be wise to sell the house to a family member of mine so it doesn't even belong to me. Might question there would be if its retrospective and money for her would still have to be found.

Quite happy to spend every penny on the nipper but I think if we split she's had quite enough this last 4 years.

Need to see a solictor anyway about having this parental rights form signed. If anything happens to my GF, her parents get "first dibbs" on our daughter. By my GFs own admittance, her parents can barely look after themselves.

Anyone been to do this form I'm on about?

Drunken Bungle Whore

I may be misunderstanding this - but you're contemplating kicking the mother of your child out of the family home - and your biggest concern is how much money she gets...? Seems a little harsh.

I'd also suggest that division of the cash will be small fry compared with the custody battle.

weapon69

Did your GF give up work or some kind of career to look after your daughter? If so, her solicitor will plug that massively when it comes to money. You don't have to be married.

EddScott

I am not considering kicking anyone out of any house. I'm attempting to find out what exactly happens when a couple with a child split up. Having effectively carried someone for 4 years and paid all the outstanding bills and the secret Provident loans as well as the inpaid mobile phone bills plus all the non-financial grief provided by the other half, you must allow me to feel somewhat resentful of having to walk away from the house or indeed having to part with a significant amount of money only to find yet more money is asked of me through those kind people at the CSA.

Frankly my opinion is why should I?

As for custody, that would not be contested. I do feel that if the father has a more stable environment to provide the child then the child should stay with the father until the mother has a sufficent environment in order to hand the child over to the mother. To verbally agree to that would also mean that if I cut up rough and refused to hand the child back in the eyes of the law I would not have a leg to stand on and therefore would not consider putting up a fight.

We have a client in work who will inherit a large fortune when his parents pass away. He is about to get married and the girlfriend has had to sign a pre-nuptual (sp) agreement relinquishing all rights to any of the inheritance.

The lad I work with, his parents have a decent amount of cash and have ensured that in the event of him dying before the parents, all inheritance will pass to their children only.

Its not being tight or harsh or mean etc etc, its being realistic in the world we live in today.

No real job or career. After a few false starts, she is now training to be a hairdresser. I have pushed her to find some sort of career so in the event we did split she would always be able to find a job to provide for our daughter.

weapon69

OK, well try avoid courts at all costs, if you can agree a sum to pay as maintenence then best all round i reckon.

idf101

Whilst the common law wife may be hyped up where you will struggle is in "establishing the relationship" as you are not landlord and tenant and no rent book or history of payments is applicable you may well find the court will take a view that you shared your home freely.
If they do and especially considering the child as well i reckon you may well get taken for some cost this may not be the traditional half the home etc. but you could end up having to make what the law calls "Provision" which can be anything on the day!!!

OllyK

All very well, but as they are not legally enforcible at this time, I'm not sure that there's a lot of point, but I'm sure his solicitor has told him that?

http://www.politics.co.uk/issueoftheday/family-law-bar-association-prenuptials-welcome-if-safeguarded-$7130602.htm

*Sonic*

I was told by a solicitor (when I was in a similar postion) that even tho we had been together for 6 years, common law wife meant diddly squat, she moved out of the house, and signed it over to me (and she was on the deeds) she had two children, (neither were mine)

The solictor who told me this information was her father, he advised her she was best just to move out, and sign the house over to me

Tiggs

"We have a client in work who will inherit a large fortune when his parents pass away. He is about to get married and the girlfriend has had to sign a pre-nuptual (sp) agreement relinquishing all rights to any of the inheritance."

lol...lots of money but not enough to get advice on whether that would work!

jasey

Touting for work is strictly not allowed Tiggs

Tiggs

lol...not my field. (i know how to use goggle though )

Drunken Bungle Whore

I think a lot of other people may feel the same - however the law sees things rather differently. Try asking the guys in Fathers for Justice.

I'm asking in a nice way - you are clearly in a position to be able to pay for all these things. Does that mean you work full time? If so, does that mean your G/F was at home full time bringing up the child? Being a full time mother wouldn't exacly qualify as 'being carried'.

I'm not being mean, I'm just, as you say, "being realistic in the world we live in today".

Scooby-Doo

You clearly have no understanding of what work is involved in being a mother. I would not swap places with my partner through choice. Recently they have stated an average mother would earn 30k equiv. My other half is probably worth 100k with 2 little ones running around.

OllyK

Who is "they" and where did they state it?

mad_dr

And what was that based on? Did someone sit down and work out a fair wage for each of the 'tasks' carried out during the average day by a parent? IE "Cooked dinner = £4k per year" +
"Cleaned house = £2k per year" +
"Mopped up vomit = £2k per year" etc?!

No offense but you can't put a price on that - and I don't mean that in an "agressive female shouting the odds about how being a housewife is the most difficult job in the world" way either (I'm not female for a start!), but rather from a "I have NO idea how anyone can put a price on motherhood - what a stupid idea to even bother to try - it was probably done by an aggressive house-husband/house-wife" point of view...

OllyK

I suspect, hence looking for clarification before commenting, that it was some estimate put together by lawyers to use in divorce / custody cases.

Spoon

I read the bit about a housewifes' worth too somewhere. I actually think it was nothing more than as mad_dr has implied.

If you take what a housewife does while being at home, and then replace that with the wages of a comparable profession then you get the figure, apparently.

I don't think it had any legal reasoning behind it, merely an excercise to show a housewifes/husbands worth if replaced.

I can't remember whether or not taxi fares were included should nobody be around to ferry the children about.

It was all a little over the top from memory, but if it hasn't been used in a case yet, it's probably not long before it is.