My husband and I brought our house 12 months ago, as the mortgage is only in his name, upon his insistence, I now obviously not on the deeds to the property. I consider that without my income we would not be able to afford to live in the property, my husbands income pays most of the bills my income provides for everything else, food, petrol, insurance etc. He has now informed me that he intends to make a will stating that I get to keep the house upon his death, with it transferring to his four children if I die or wish to move or if I form a relationship with another man. I have a child that lives with us, none of his children do. We have been together for 10 years and married for 3. What advice can you give me, what are my rights with regards to the property?

November 27, 2008 by Anonymous

This does not sound like a very happy situation. The house is the matrimonial home and as such you have very considerable rights with regard to it. Most of these however would only come into effect on divorce or the marriage being dissolved. During the subsistence of the marriage your only right is to occupation of the house under the Matrimonial Homes Act. Were there to be a divorce however it is fairly irrelevant whose name the matrimonial home is in, as the court has the power to vary property entitlements. You have a child who I presume is a child of the family and who must be housed as a top priority. It would therefore be most likely that on divorce an order would be made that you remain in the property until such time as your child completes full-time education and at that stage, the property be sold and divided between you and your husband. You will appreciate that without knowing more detail and without knowledge of all family assets and income it is only possible for me to give rough advice on this, but that would be the general direction a court would take.

I am not sure that the will which your husband intends to make provides proper provision for you and your child. If that is indeed the case you would have a legal right to apply to the court under the Inheritance (Provision for Family And Dependants) Act for a fair and proper distribution of your husband's estate.

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