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Unmarried couples 'entitled to equal share of home after split'
Thu 27 May 2010
Couples who own a property together but are not married may be able to claim an equal share of their home in the event of them splitting up.
Last year, Leonard Kernott was awarded ten per cent of the Essex home he shared with his partner Patricia Jones, whom he left in 1993.
Ms Jones had been handed the bigger share because she had brought up the couple's children, looked after the house and paid the mortgage.
Mr Kernott subsequently took the case to the Court of Appeal following the initial county court ruling, as he believed he was entitled to a greater share of the property.
This week, the court backed his view that it had been accepted at the time of their cohabitation that he owned an equal share of the property, and that this state of affairs had not changed.
Lord Justice Wall described this as a "cautionary tale" for all unmarried couples who are considering buying a property.
Jacqueline Major, a senior solicitor at Winckworth Sherwood, commmented: "'A cautionary tale' indeed.
"To be heeded not only by cohabitees buying property together, but legal advisors, particularly those doing conveyancing who should refer all such purchases to an expert family solicitor who can give full advice on the legal consequences of such a purchase.
"This case is another in a long line of property disputes between former cohabiting partners who did not make proper arrangements on what would happen to their home should their relationship end.
"Patricia Jones lost the case because their property, held in joint names, was never dealt with at the time they separated so remained as a notional 50 50 ownership in law - and the rigours of the Law of Property make it very difficult to change that ownership, regardless of the separation, or post separation contribution.
"In the Winckworth Sherwood Family Law team we have solicitors with all the expertise necessary to advise cohabitees on every aspect of living together, including whether a cohabitation agreement would be appropriate. With such an agreement, properly drafted, cases like this one could be avoided."
