News
There has just been another Court of Appeal case confirming how careful you need to be when separating after living together.
The facts of Kernott v Jones are straightforward. A property was purchased in May 1995 in joint names when they already had a child between them. They separated 8 years later in 2003 and Miss Jones stayed in the property paying the mortgage, maintaining the property and all the bills. Then in 2007 Mr Kernott issued proceedings seeking a 50% share in the property. At Trial a Judge awarded Miss Jones 90% of the value on the basis of her substantial contribution post separation and the fact that she supported the children from Mr Kernott. Mr Kernott appealed and succeeded in the Court asserting to the original ownership terms of 50% each in absence of clear evidence to the contrary. This means that notwithstanding all the contribution by Miss Jones following the separation she only receives 50% of the equity.
The Court said it needed specific evidence that people had changed their intentions. You could not simply impute some change of intention by one party doing nothing. This was even if it went on for many years. Something far more positive was required.
So that if you live together, when you buy a property you clearly need to set out the shares in which you own in the property. Equally important is what you do if ever you separate. If you stay in the property, pay all the bills, maintain the place and pay the mortgage you might think if the house is sold later you should get more than your basic share. This only happens if you can provide clear evidence of an agreement between you and your co-owner of a change in these shares to be accountable of this.
Some vague agreement over a drink is unlikely to be enough. You need a formal arrangement if you want to protect the extra contribution you put into the asset.
The clear message that comes out of this is, if you live together it is not just before you buy, but when you separate, you need to get good legal advice to ensure you fully understand what your share is and how to protect it. It is sensible when dealing with something that is the biggest investment that most people make in their lives.
At Foot Anstey we have a team of specialist family and property lawyers who can help.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
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