Property

Joint Names 

If you buy a house jointly with another person whom you live with the ownership rights of that property will be governed by ordinary principles of property law.  

The property may be owned jointly either as tenants in common or joint tenants. 

Tenants in common own the property in the shares as determined by them. This may be 50/50 or any other division. Each party owns their specific share and can pass it onto their heirs upon his/her death.  

Joint Tenants on the other hand each own the property exclusively and on the death of one the survivor is automatically entitled to the whole property. Neither co-owner can therefore pass their share onto another person under a will.  

Where a property is jointly held a “trust” of land is created. This gives each co-owner the right to have the property sold and the proceeds divided in the respective shares.  

Where there are children of the relationship the Court may allow one of the parties to continue living in the property until the children having finished full time education. Whether this is possible will depend upon how much capital is tied up in the property. The court has power to make orders for the transfer of property to provide a home for dependant children. However, these powers are not automatically exercised by the Court as with married couples and should not be relied upon.  

If there are no children it is extremely unlikely that either party could oppose an order for sale.  

Where property is rented in joint names it may be possible to transfer the tenancies into the sole name of one party.  

Sole Name 

If the property is held in the sole name of your partner you may be still able to establish an interest in the property if : - 

a) it was agreed at the time of purchase that you would have a share and you had relied upon that expectation to your detriment or  

b) if you had made a direct contribution to the mortgage repayments or the purchase of the property or  

c) if you had made a financial contribution to the improvement of the property  

Parties in these situations usually face complicated issues when separating and to avoid these where it is intended that both parties should have an interest in the property it is always best to ensure that a solicitor is instructed to prepare a Trust Document reflecting the parties’ shares in the property. 

Other Jointly Owned Property  

The Court has the power to declare what the parties’ rights are over jointly owned possessions and any party can make an application to the court to obtain a declaration by the Court as to the ownership. . This may include items such as jewellery, antiques, motor vehicles, insurance policies etc.  

Similar applications can also be made under the The Married Women's Property Act 1881 for couples who were engaged for up to 3 years before making the application. Applications under this act are not common but can be helpful in determining rights in certain communities where dowries are given such as Muslim Hindu or Jewish.