You may think that if a property is initially bought by an unmarried couple with equal shares in the equity that this will mean the shares will stay the same but it isn’t necessarily the case, even though there is an initial presumption of equal ownership, as a case which has gone all the way to a Supreme Court ruling has decided.
In the case in question the couple had split up after 8 years together, following which the man stopped paying the mortgage and any other outgoings. He still claimed equal ownership but the Supreme Court has decided that the woman is entitled to 90% of the equity based on her payment of the outgoings for the property for many years after the man moved out.
This case highlights the importance of having a proper declaration of trust when buying a property which sets out in more detail the position on co-ownership and will also assist in circumstances where one party wants to sell but the other does not.
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