Property issues

I have just separated from my partner who has moved out of our home. I have asked him to sign a transfer form (issued by the mortgage company) as I have been paying the mortgage by myself for some time (my partner is out of work) and obviously I will need to carry on doing so. I have offered a financial incentive to do this but he has refused to sign anything. After seeking advice, I understand that I could request for a Separation Agreement to be set up but this still needs to be signed by him. There is a joint life policy effective on the property and I understand that if anything happens to me then he can get everything. I have a dependent 15 year old son. Is there anything else I can do now to protect my half so that my son is left with something if anything happens to me? Is there anything else I can do to get him off the title deeds?

Were you married and are you tenants in common?

We were not married and yes, as far as I understand, we are tenants in common.

can anyone help?

In reply to the cri de coeur from Mrsmathsisfun, you are not married and the Court therefore does not have the wide redistributive powers that it does on divorce.

Oh dear, I woke up this morning in a philosophical mood. Must take two aspirin and lie down till it wears off.

The chances are that, if you are tenants in common, it will be in equal shares, but without knowing more or seeing the deeds, I stress that this is no more than a guess.

You can request a separation agreement, but he doesn''t have to sign it. Let''s face it, would you ?

You have a number of options but I''d say the best for you is to seek an order under section 15 of the Children Act 1989 to request a financial order for the benefit of your dependent child. And for obvious reasons who had better do this while your child is still dependent.

For this you need legal advice, but you''d need it with a separation agreement anyway.

LMM

Thanks LMM.

Would a court consider the fact that prior to getting he joint mortgage RosieLee owned the house and paid the deposit or would being tenants in common on the deeds outweigh this?

Rosielee has had legal advise and know its will be costly and is wondering whether its worth the battle.

You really need to see a solicitor sooner rather than later to establish you are in fact tenants in common. Owning property as tenants in common means the property belongs to you jointly but you also own a specific share of its value. If you die, your share of the property passes to the beneficiary in your will. When you own the property as joint tenants the property belongs to you and the other owner(s) but when you die, your interest in the property then passes automatically to the other owner.

If by any chance you are joint tenants it''s straightforward to change to tenants in common and leave your share of any equity to your son should you die whilst sorting out the property which may take some time. Also a solicitor can look at the exact wording of your joint life insurance policy to tell you where you stand.

As far as the property is concerned you aren''t married and ownership is determined by property law. When two people own a property together it is assumed they own it in equal shares unless the deeds of the property state otherwise. If a transfer or sale can''t be agreed you would need to apply to court for an order to sell or transfer. Legally it is fairly complicated (and therefore expensive!) and it''s worth trying mediation or negotiating through solicitors to try to reach agreement.