Date 10 May 2011
The Supreme Court will be ruling on a case where the Court of Appeal gave an ex partner an equal share in a property they both owned although they had been separated for 13 years and he had not paid toward the mortgage since they separated.
This case identifies the difficulties facing unmarried couples who jointly own property. It is probably the biggest area of law for confusion and misunderstanding. The partner who remains in the home often thinks that their ex’s share will be limited to the value of the property at the time they split up; or even that he/she won’t have any rights to it as they chose to move out and have not been paying toward it. This is not the case and it highlights the importance of seeking legal advice at the time of the split and basing future decisions on that advice.
It can be heartbreaking for the remaining partner to have spent years paying for a property and taking good care of it, with repairs, maintenance and improvements only to find their ex successfully claiming half.
To read more about the impact of Cohabitation Rights, click here.
© SA LAW 2011
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