un married split entitlement to property

[DEAFBLOKE]

my partner left me for someone else and took two children now she has benifits galor i`m left 24/7 to pay the debts and mortgage that i took out 2 years ago. we were together 5 years have two children 4 and 3 lived together in rented until two years ago i got divorce settlement through and bought a house the mortgage is soley in my name i paid all the bills except tv licence .i don`t pay her any matenance as working as much as i can to pay every thing she walked out on including �18,000 loans and credit cards. but i do buy every thing the kids need nappies food clothes school stuff toys etc i gave her the deposit for the house she is renting on housing benifit also let her have all the contents of the house so it would be furnished for the kids i still pay �200 per month for the car she is driving,
my question is that is she entitled to any equitiy in the house ?

[shero101]

Hi DEAFBLOKE, sorry to hear about your circumstances, it must be a difficult time but you are not alone in this type of situation, belive me. Without the benefit of marriage things are very different. If the house is in your name then unless she can proove she has contributed it is unlikely that there is any claim on it. You need to sort out what is her responsibility and what is joint. The main concern is for your children and in due course you should set up to pay child benefit. Once this is in place you would not be expected to pay additional amounts. This is only an opinion and you should seek legal advice and if at all possible try and keep on reasonable terms so that agreements can be made between you for the welbeing of your children. I wish you well.
Shero.

[PinkFizz]

What ab awful situation! Are the loans and credit cards in your name as well?

[nikki827]

The law may vary from state to state, or country to country, but because you were never married, and the mortgage is solely in your name, she has no rights to the house, or any money that comes from a future sale. You may need to check the state/country specific laws on this though to be absolutely sure.

[Pippa68]

If I were you I would only be paying maintenance for the children ~ she can pay for the rest herself.

I doubt she wouold have any claim on the house, unless she could prove she paid a substantial amount into maintaining the property or paying the mortgage.

[Didwot]

The main question to ask is whether there was an agreement betwen you and her at the time of purchase that the property was to be shared in some way. If there was such an agreement then she may be entitled to such share as was agreed. If there was no such agreement then I would not hold out much hope for her having any claim

[Mrs_Pegasus]

Only pay the bills in your name and notify the companies of the bills that arent where she is now living.

Get and see a solicitor ASAP so she cant put a charge on the house therefore not allowing you to sell. The chances of her being able to do this is slim but to safeguard the asset see a solicitor.

[Andy Boz]

So sad that people can fall out in this way.
As others have said, seek proper legal advice as a matter of urgency.
If it were me, I would stop paying for her car straight away, stop paying for any bills that are hers, and quite simply look after number one.
Also, and this is very important, give her a fixed amount weekly or monthly for the children, and do it by cheque, or standing order. DO NOT give cash. Cash is untraceable, and an aquaintance of mine found out the hard way when forced to pay again for his children, because his ex-partner denied she had had any monies off him, for 3 years! Make her give you a reciept for anything she has off you. You may think that she is trustworthy, but in my experience they never are.

Good luck.