What is the law on partner's (not married) financial entitlement on splitting up?

J

Jimmy Choo

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Just wondering if any of the AAM legal eagles can confirm what is the exact financial entitlement of a couple who have been cohabiting for a number of years and decide to split?

Heard recently of a guy who owned his house in his name only and had to pay his partner €12,000 when they split up after 10 years of living together. She did not contribute to mortgage or daily running of the house. Its hard to understand why he had to pay anything? Is this unusual?

Two friends of mine went to see their solicitor, as one of them had been given a terminal diagnosis, so they wanted to update their wills. Their daughter was due to inherit their house, after their deaths. Solicitor forewarned them to make their daughter aware, that if when the house was hers and if she moved a partner in, if they contributed to even one bill, they would then be entitled to a settlement if they split up. Yet again seems hard to understand this?
 
Jimmy Choo said:
Heard recently of a guy who owned his house in his name only and had to pay his partner €12,000 when they split up after 10 years of living together. She did not contribute to mortgage or daily running of the house. Its hard to understand why he had to pay anything? Is this unusual?
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Who, exactly, told him that he had to pay?
 
It sounds sensible to me that they came to a financial arrangement and she was able to move out. After living together for 10 years she would need to be able to rent and would need a deposit, moving costs, etc. The 10K may have just been a token to the man or a significant financial burden, but we cannot say, and we cannot say what promises they made to each other over the 10 years. The woman may have fretted that she never contributed, the man may have promised to “look after her” if they ever split up, etc, etc. it sounds like they had a clean break for a relatively minor cost (for 10 years of living together).

As for your friends daughter, the solicitor was being prudent in pointing out future pitfalls to her. If she moved in the love of her life, she could do anything from marrying him, to asking him to pay rent, to insisting he not spend a penny, and all have some financial implications if they broke up.

Living together is a very strong statement of life commitment to each other, and the dissolution of that couple can have all sorts of ramifications.
 
Clamball said:
Living together is a very strong statement of life commitment to each other, and the dissolution of that couple can have all sorts of ramifications.
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Correct. And even unmarried couples going through relationship breakdown may have certain rights.

Redress scheme for cohabiting couples

What is the redress scheme for cohabitants and who qualifies?
www.citizensinformation.ie www.citizensinformation.ie
If you have been living in an intimate and committed relationship with your partner and your relationship ends, you may be able to avail of the ‘redress scheme for cohabiting couples’. The aim of the redress scheme is to protect a financially dependent member of the couple if the long-term cohabiting relationship ends (either through death or separation).

Under the redress scheme, cohabiting couples can get similar orders from the court as are available to married couples when they separate or divorce (for example, a ‘maintenance order’ or ‘property adjustment order’).
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