I've split up with my girlfriend and need to sort out the financial and legal implications - the house and possessions.

Hopefully we've agreed on a figure for me to buy her out.

I believe the important points are these:
I own the house.
-- Mortgage is completely in my name.
-- All legal bits are all in my name, deeds, land registry etc.
All bills are in my name.
She contributed an amount to the deposit.
She contributed the same as me each month to cover all outgoings.

The currently agreed figure is her deposit contribution + furniture/possessions.

She was originally insisting on something more for what she feels were contributions to my mortgage.

If I went down what I feel would be the proper route of selling the house and splitting everything accordingly (if I actually wanted to sell the house), meaning she would have the benefit (or equal loss) of having paid into the mortgage, the final figure after costs/fees etc would be less than the one I offered and it looks like we have now agreed, so she's coming out of this better than if we went down the route of selling the house.

So I think financially I'm on reasonable grounds since she's getting more than she would if the house was to be sold (by a decent amount). Legally, do I need to do anything? She isn't named on anything and has no legal responsibility for the house. At the very least should I get a solicitor to put a letter or similar together for both of us to sign to say she relinquishes any ownership of house+possessions after the payment is paid?

I hate being grown up.

Can't help, but sorry to hear that :(

Cheers Dan. It's obviously a bit shit but life moves on.

Deffo get a solicitor involved, but don't spring it on her as a surprise, which could blow up.


IANAL

(hug)

Have you tried turning her off and on again?

Ouch. (hug)

Pay her the deposit back, and cost of furniture. As for mortgage payments: where would she have been living if not with you? Presumably as you are the only one on the mortgage she wouldn't have been able to get a mortgage on her own? Would she have been renting or paying her own  mortgage? Cos last time I checked, when you move out of a rented flat you don't get your rent back. You don't get to claim against the value of your landlords property just because you slept with them (may sound harsh, but I'm still bitter over my own experiences :C ).

Dude... sorry to hear that.  :-(

Yep, as mentioned, get a solicitor involved. I can recommend a matrimonial/family (I know you're not married, but same area) solicitor at the place I work. I think they offer a free 30 minute initial consultation, at least they used to a while back, no-one's mentioned anything about it recently, I'll have a word in the morning. Could be useful if you're just looking for a few pointers to get started with.



 

I was hoping you'd say something since you've been through this recently, in a much more expensive way :C

That's pretty much exactly what I said. It would mean she has lived in the house for free since we moved in (minus bills, so essentially rent-free). I had told her if she wants to go down the path of claiming mortgage payments, because she feels I'm benefiting from them, I'm prepared to sell the house and give her the proportional share of what's left. Since we've not been living here long the costs/fees (including the fees associated with buying, which I paid in full) would outweigh what we get out meaning she ends up with less than the value of the deposit contribution. It wasn't a surprise when she then agreed to the original offer.

She would have been living with family, which was one of her arguments - "I wouldn't have been paying anything there". To which I told her I wouldn't have bought the house I did in the area I did if she was living with family, I've moved a reasonable distance away from work/family to make things easier for her. So I'll be left with a house in a place I have no interest in living.

She's getting a very fair deal (which I don't mind since it was my original offer) and I just want to cover my arse legally.

 

Thanks for the offer.

The solicitor I used to buy the house is a bit of a friend (good friend of my brother) so I'll be going to them first of all for some sort of advice.

I'd say that paying her the money towards the deposit and putting in to furniture, that's your arse covered. Anything else is purely up to you if you want to give it over or not. I'd refuse, but then I'm a cunt :D

>>She would have been living with family, which was one of her arguments - "I wouldn't have been paying anything there". 

Did she move in under the impression she was buying a share of the house? If she did then she should have been questioning why she isn't on any paperwork. If not, she's got no comeback on it. She chose to move in with you and was aware of the costs of doing so, end of story. She was renting from you, what you do with the money she paid you (pay it towards mortgage, buy more temperature sensors) is really none of her concern. 

What she's legally entitled to, in my humble IANAL opinion:
1. Money she gave/lent for deposit
2. Half the *value* of the joint possessions. Note value, not purchase price.
 

No worries, hope you get it sorted.

I agree on your value point, but I'm going with purchase price for the path of least resistance, items are less than 12 months old anyway.

There was no agreement as such. The main reason the mortgage was in my name was because I was putting more money in (about 3 times more) and she hadn't been in her job long enough to be considered. It was discussed she might go on the mortgage when it came to remortgage (2 years) but she's changed jobs a good few times lately so it might not have been the easiest.

Due to length of time we've been in the house she's actually going to get more out of it than if she was on the mortgage and the house was sold.

Sorry to hear it (((Ant))). It's poo all round.

Do the decent thing: the thing you would have done for the person you once loved.  Even if you end up with the shorter end of the stick, you'll feel better for it, and how you feel about others and yourself is all that matters.  Money is meaningless.

Even if she hadn't paid part of the deposit, contributing towards the mortgage and other household costs since the beginning will give her the right to claim a form of constructive trust over the property, giving her cause of action to sue you for part of the proceeds of sale. The amount she could be awarded could depend entirely on which of you the judge likes the most, or whatever you agree to settle for.

As you've already agreed an amount though, it's a bit of a moot point unless you decide to renege on your deal. You've made a great sounding offer, and she'd be a bit mad not to take it as if she wants to play hardball and wants you to sell, she runs the risk of getting significantly less (which you say is the probably outcome) or even nothing at all if you simply refuse to sell.

Getting her sign a document relinquishing all claims over the property would be a good idea. You don't necessarily need a solicitor to do it for you though. Just get an impartial third party to sign as a witness (or, in the absence of anyone impartial, get one of your mates and one of her mates to jointly witness) so neither of you can later try and deny it's validity.

Sorry for your situation. Break ups are seldom good. Hope it all works out for you.

As far as the property stuff, I don't know if you're in the US or not, but for here I would suggest getting some sort of release done for both of you to sign, and make sure you each have a copy. Get it witnessed and so forth. A notary or lawyer would be a good idea for the witnessing.

If for no other reason, to protect yourself and your possessions. Just in case she decides to go sour on you down the road. It can happen. I've seen it over the years. Better safe than sorry in my book in any situation involving property or money, and possible hard feelings between parties somewhere along the way.

Good luck, and again, sorry for your situation. I hope things get better.

Maybe in the coming future you can sell the house and use what you get to buy something in an area you do want, and make a fresh start for yourself. :)

This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks.

I had read things that said she had no rights and that she did have rights. The constructive trust bit was very useful.

I'll definitely be getting a document sorted for that. I was thinking a family member each to sign as witness.

I feel I am doing the decent thing so I'm comfortable with that.

I'm just glad I've got parents who don't mind bailing out their kids when the shit hits the fan!

May be different here, but I very much doubt it - get it signed off legally or she can come back on you later if she starts feeling that you were unfair at some point in the future. I've had friends who thought everything was sorted fairly,  to everyone's satisfaction,  then a few years later a lawyers letter demanding more.  Better to spend a few dollars (pounds) and be sure that cannot happen.