NSW When does a relationship end?

[Lysa]

I was in a same sex relationship that commenced in 2012. Female partner and her 2 young daughters. They moved into my house (the family home that I now own) also in 2012.

In 2016, we broke up and she and the kids moved out into a rental on a 1 year lease. After 6 months we decided to try and get back together so we paid the default on the lease and they moved back into the house.
At this time, we decided to build a granny flat on my property for them to live in so that they would be close by without too much strain on the relationship. My then ex partner was to service the loan that we jointly took out for the flat in exchange for a percentage share in the property.

It took a long time to finish the granny flat and upon completion in June 2018 we had decided not to continue with any attempt at reconciliation. The 3 of them moved into the granny flat in June 2018 and we have since decided that I need to sell my house as I cannot afford to buy out my ex partners share.

We are now working out how to divide the property as she has a very different idea of what her entitlement should be.

As she had not contributed financially to the property prior to 2017, I offered her 20% of sale price based on her servicing the loan for the flat.

She wants a larger percentage because she has lived on the property from 2012 to March 2016 (ish) and from Oct 2016 (ish) to present day.

I t has been suggested that when she moved out in March 2016 and didn't make a claim against me, she forfeited the right to claim against that period and should now only be able to claim for the current period.

Is this true?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Reeceramsden]

De facto relationships are usually when you live together beyond 2 years (however you can argue one is before that if a person made a significant contribution to the asset pool prior). If it has been beyond two years since separating she may have forfeited her ability to seek a property settlement under the family law act. She would be requried to then seek permission from the family court to apply out of time. The property pool is calculated at the date of the property settlement, not at the date of separation. Important to wrap up property settlements sooner rather than later.

 

[CSFLW]

Hi Lysa

In terms of the period of the relationship, it is difficult to assess if you broke up during the 6 month period as there may be factors that suggest you were continuing a de facto relationship.

Either way, given you were a de facto couple, she has two-years to make a claim for the division of assets and can consider her contributions to the granny flat as part of that claim.

Let me know if you need more help.

 

[Lysa]

De facto relationships are usually when you live together beyond 2 years (however you can argue one is before that if a person made a significant contribution to the asset pool prior). If it has been beyond two years since separating she may have forfeited her ability to seek a property settlement under the family law act. She would be requried to then seek permission from the family court to apply out of time. The property pool is calculated at the date of the property settlement, not at the date of separation. Important to wrap up property settlements sooner rather than later.

Thank you for your reply. I suspect that our period of separation could fall into a grey area as to whether the relationship fully terminated. I would still visit her and eat dinner with them sometimes.
My issue with her claim arises because when we first got together, I owned my old family home (via inheritance and buying my sisters share). When my ex moved in, all she brought was debt and some old furniture (which we threw out). Since then, apart from general upkeep (mowing lawns etc) the only work she has done on the house was to paint one of the kids rooms (due to the kids wrecking the paintwork). I have paid for all the maintenance (eg getting drains and pipes replaced etc) and also a total re cladding of the house and a new roof. Her first foray into actual contribution to the property was made recently (mid 2017) when we borrowed for the granny flat and she agreed to service the loan in exchange for a percentage of ownership.
My settlement calculation was based on her granny flat contribution as a percentage of the overall value. She wants a larger share based on living with me since 2012. I don't know which way the legal system would view this, but I am scared to lose too much as I am retired and on a very small super pension. I need to buy another home and was hoping to top up my pension to make living a bit more affordable. My ex is a lot younger and still has many years left to get set up for retirement, so I am really not trying to be spiteful. I honestly thought my percentage calc erred to her favour.

 

[CSFLW]

Lysa, there are many factors that the Court considers when dividing assets.

You have hit on a few of them, age, contributions etc, but it is not cut and dry.

You should seek some legal assistance.

If you click on my sign off, we can give you some preliminary advice if that helps.