im buying a house

[daver1986]

im buying a house and will be moving in in the next couple of weeks. i will be moving in with my girlfriend and our 11 week old baby, to honest i dont think we will last but we are giving it a go for the babys sake. but my problem is if she moves in with me will she be able to claim on my house and take it off me? she has been told by someone that i will have to move out and she will still be able to live there while i pay the bills, is this true? someone please help??

[lilacben]

If I was you Dave I would really think hard about this if I was you. Couples should not try to give it a go for a childs sake. Honestly it will never work. I am not saying finish with her if you are happy but it doesnt sound that way to me. Contact Citizen Advice on monday and find out. How long have you been together.? Would you be moving her in if there wasnt a baby.? Or infact would you even be with her if there wasnt.? Whatever happens you will have to baby for this child for the next 16 or 18 years. But go into this with your eyes open.......children do not gell a relationship if there was nothing there to start with. Good luck for your future. xx

[ummmm]

If her name is not on the house she has no legal rights to it. You, on the other hand are legally obliged to support your child and make sure they have roof over their head.

[joeluke]

If you're not confident the relationship will last why bother moving her in at all?

If you actually thought anything of the girl you wouldn't even be thinking like this

[Andyvon]

You really have got in a mess already Dave. You are digging yourself deeper and deeper into the hole. If you have so little regard or feelings for each other that you dismissed marriage before the child was born then things won't change in the future. For whatever reasons best known to you and your girlfriend you decided to make a baby outside marriage and that child is obviously not going to grow up in a settled and stable environment with Mum and Dad. That's asking for problems in the future already but don't compound those by the legal disaster you are considering.

It really doesn't sound as if you are going to be around for this child for too long. The baby's already here and that can't be changed but I hope you don't go and do the same again with another girlfriend. If you aren't prepared to get married then why make a child with someone? It always astonishes me. Children really do deserve better.

[VHG]

A lot of it seems to depend whose name is on the house. When you buy a house it can be in your name only, or in both your names (legal document).

If YOUR name is on it she has no claim to it.

If BOTH your names are on it then you could be in trouble as she can claim half of it, and could probably get the court to agree to her staying in the house (if she keeps the child) and you moving out.

So my first suggestion would be to not move in together at all if it is not going to work (it is MUCH harder to split up once you are living together). I got maried to my first wife even though I knew it would not work (just to stop her nagging me to marry her) and we had 10 years of misery.

My second suggestion is to ONLY put you name on the house if you have paid all the deposit, mortgage repayments etc. If her name is on the house she will have a claim on it.

Search the web for legal sites about "cohabiting"

Here is one

http://www.lawonthewe...mily_Law/Cohabitation

[ummmm]

VHG - Contributing to the mortgage and bills will not be taken into consideration. It's expected the same way you'd pay a landlord rent. No one lives for free.

She would only have an 'interest' in the house is she put large lump sums in.

[Bambiagain]

Since there is a child involved, and you are the father, she may be able to get a court to force you to pay her some of the value of the house if the relationship ends. I knew someone this happened to - they moved in together in a similar situation to yours and later split up. I would advise you not to move in together if you really aren't sure it's the right thing to do.

[ummmm]

Were they married Bambiagain?

[Bambiagain]

No.

[ummmm]

Surely there's more to the story. She must have had an 'interest' in the house.

[Andyvon]

More....! It's just struck me Dave what a danger this is!

Quite obviously if you split with your girlfriend it will be YOU leaving the house! She won't be leaving and that will leave your girlfriend in the house with the baby. There is no way you will be able to abrogate the costs of the mortgage to her and you will still be liable for the mortgage by Social Services, CPA, the bank etc. regardless of the fact you won't be there! You will then have a huge financial millstone around your neck for the next 25 years. It will be very hard to find somewhere of your own and you will never get another mortgage. What if you then meet the woman who is Miss Right and who you want to marry and spend the rest of your life with?

Your present girlfriend won't have any objections to your plans at the moment as she knows that when you break up she will be in the house with you paying! She could even move a new boyfriend in and you would be paying for that!

Don't do it mate. Just stick as you are, keep your options open and yourself financially free. Just think of when you meet the right girl in the future which you will.

[craft1948]

I'd rent somewhere and see how it goes...........

[ummmm]

Andy - I think you're wrong there.

[woofgang]

to confirm, if there is a child, and the child is yours, the law takes a very dim view of it being made homeless. If your GF is going to keep the child and be its main carer then the expectation would be that they should remain in the house and you should leave. Your GF's right comes of her being the mother and carer of your child.....be very very careful.

[Bambiagain]

Ummmm - I have been bounced twice trying to answer you, so this time I hope it works! The person in question moved into his house because of the child. When the relationship inevitably ended, she stayed in the house until he went to court. He ended up having to sell the house to pay her off. Had there not been a child involved she would probably have got nothing, but he freely admitted to being the father so the court ruled in her favour.

[hc4361]

Don't do it!
If she can prove she has a beneficial interest in the house, even though she has not contributed to the mortgage or running costs, then you will end up giving her a share of the proceeds AND possibly having to maintain her.

She needs to prove you were living together as a couple, you supported her financially while she raised your child, and by her looking after the child and doing the housework she was supporting you in your work.

She needs to treat the house as her own, with decisions in furniture purchasing, decorating and so on. It is extremely complicated, and one thing is for sure - if she has no assets and no job, she will get legal aid. You probably wouldn't.

[ummmm]

^^^ and I would guess that was more the case with Bambiagains friend. He probably had to sell the house to pay the costs.