In a series of QPS Blogs, one titled “What happens to children during a divorce” – we continue with the same theme in this episode.

When you separate from your spouse or partner, there are lots of things you need to decide on. Including how the properties should be divided… of course including your home. This can be quite difficult, as one person may argue that they should stay in the property with the children. While the other may argue that they’ve contributed more money to the home.

For some people who might not know, this decision won’t actually be up for debate.  If you’re not married, there’s a chance you do not have any legal rights over the property. This is because the laws for married couples are very different from the laws for unmarried couples.

Common Law Marriage does not exist!

There is a popular myth that when you live with your partner for a long time and hold yourselves out to the community as “being married,” but without ever going through a formal ceremony or getting a marriage license, is that you’re in a ‘common law marriage’. But the truth is that in England & Wales there’s no such thing as a common law marriage. Whether you’ve been living together for a year, 15 years or so, if you’re not married, you have no automatic legal right over your partner’s assets.

Lots of couples are in this position, as more and more of us are choosing to live together without getting married. More often than not, someone will move into a property that their partner already owns, or can’t afford to contribute when their partner buys a new house. But what many do not realise is that if anything goes wrong in the relationship and they have to part ways, they could find themselves homeless.

Cohabitation Agreements

Marriage is not for everyone. Some people might believe that “living together” is good enough. So, for most people, if you’re not married and your name is not on any official paperwork, it’s very likely your ex will keep the house.

If you find yourself in this situation, you can put a ‘Cohabitation Agreement’ in place to protect your financial assets for the future. This is a legal document which details what should happen if the relationship does break down. You can set out who gets what – who gets to keep the house, what do to with the contents of the property, and how any savings should be split if you separate.

Married or do you have kids?

Things are slightly different if you’re married or if you have a child/children together. When a couple is married, they’re automatically entitled to a share of their partner’s assets. This means they both have a legal right over the property, even if the other is not the legal owner. If you want to protect the assets that you already have before the marriage, you should consider getting a Prenuptial Agreement?

If you are currently in the throes of a divorce you may wish to read this helpful QPS Blog article “Divorce – does the family home have to be sold?”

If you have a child/children, the person considered to be the ‘primary care-giver’ normally gets to keep the family home. This basically means the person who looks after the children for the majority of the week, and most weeks.

So, if you’re going through a divorce or separation and are in dispute in the division of properties, send us a message and see if Quick Property Sale