Cohabitation law — what to do when your ex makes a claim on your jointly owned property

Our award-winning family law team represented a client who had separated from her partner following a short relationship. During the relationship, our client purchased a property — free of mortgage — which was registered in both of their names as beneficial joint tenants.

Following separation, our client’s ex sought to extract her half share of the property, despite having made no financial contribution towards the purchase.

Property disputes on relationship breakdown

Our client sought advice from a specialist family lawyer who had knowledge and experience of dealing with a property dispute following the relationship breakdown of an unmarried couple. Since our client wasn’t married to her ex, civil law — rather than family law — would apply.

Our own Amanda Long was first instructed in March 2024. Just two months later, she had reached terms to settle the dispute.

Before engaging us, our client had attempted to resolve the dispute directly with her ex, which proved unsuccessful. Her ex then engaged a lawyer, who sent our client a ‘letter before action’ which detailed the extent of the full claim and intention to issue proceedings after 14 days under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA). Without prejudice correspondence was also received in an attempt to settle.

Our client was relieved to transfer the day-to-day running of the case to Amanda to negotiate terms. She was understandably devastated at the breakdown of her relationship and the perceived immorality of her former partner’s actions in seeking a 50% share of the beneficial interest in the property — particularly because their relationship hadn’t lasted long and her ex hadn’t paid a penny towards the purchase.

She also alleged that her ex was emotionally abusive during the relationship, which meant that her confidence and self-esteem were low. Amanda’s conciliatory, attentive and empathic approach put our client at ease. Understandably, she was anxious about having to engage a lawyer and deal with this situation formally.

We held all our meetings with client via Microsoft Teams, which was more convenient for her and her parents, who attended the meetings to provide support.

Exploring the evidence and context

We started by looking at the documentary evidence in respect of the ownership of the property, including the title register and any relevant conveyancing documents. As the saying goes, ‘equity follows the law’ — and we advised our client that the title expressly and unequivocally shows that the couple held the property beneficially in equal shares.

We then explored the circumstances and discussions surrounding the purchase and found that it was intended that the couple would have joint beneficial interest before obtaining a joint mortgage and paying the purchase funds back to our client.

At the time of purchase, our client was advised by her conveyancer to consider a Declaration of Trust which would protect her monies used to purchase the property. This could have been changed in future when — as planned — a joint mortgage was obtained. Our client instructed her conveyancing solicitor that she didn’t wish to enter into a Declaration of Trust.

Reaching a positive outcome

After considering the evidence and the risks if the matter was litigated and proceeded to court, we negotiated the terms of settlement to bring about an earlier resolution and make a considerable saving in legal fees.

This meant that we managed to negate the risk of TOLATA proceedings being issued. This would have placed our client in a very vulnerable position as she could have lost her home through an order for sale and accrued significant costs.

The extent of the former partner’s claim amounted to approximately £100,000 plus payment of legal costs. We managed to secure settlement terms of a lump sum payment of £75,000 and the former partner paying all debts that arose from the relationship, which amounted to £12,000. Each party then paid their own legal costs.

Implementation of the agreement means that the property will be transferred from the couple’s joint names into our client’s sole name. This has resulted in her ex relinquishing their full legal and beneficial interests in the property, pursuant to payment of the lump sum. The terms enable the couple to completely sever their financial ties to each other and move on with their lives.

Our client will be preserving the property for herself to provide future security and ensure that her housing needs are met without any risk of a future claim from her ex.

Key learnings in cohabitation law

This case exemplifies the importance of protecting the wealth brought by one partner in an unmarried cohabiting relationship and not relying on a partner’s word or good faith.

A cohabitation agreement can be a good way to make arrangements when you’re living with your partner.

Had our client entered into a Declaration of Trust at the time of purchasing the property — and assuming that her ex would have consented to this — she would have been able to safeguard her funds used for the purchase of the property so that in the event of separation, the extent of the parties’ beneficial interests would have been clearly and expressly recorded. The parties would have held the property as tenants in common — with unequal/defined shares — rather than beneficial joint tenants with no protection. The absence of a Declaration of Trust resulted in an equal beneficial interest, which wasn’t the intended outcome.