As safe as houses!

It’s an old saying, and if we were just talking about property investment, then over the long term you’d probably agree. Whilst the property market does dip from time to time, over a sustained period, it should be a good investment.

However, nothing in my world is ever that straightforward, and there may still be times when an investment in property may not work out for you as well as you had hoped, and not just because of a rogue builder or a difficult neighbour.

When we’re talking to clients about divorce, they often point to the fact that they came to the marriage with property and assets, and they should therefore be able to leave the marriage with those properties and assets, separate from any divorce settlement.

Whilst that may be possible, it will depend on whether (and if so to what extent) the items have been “matrimonialised” during the course of the marriage. That simply means to what extent it has become an asset of the marriage, rather than a separate asset.  For example, if you own your own flat, and your partner moves in, and then you get married and live together in the flat, then the asset will almost certainly have become a family asset and so up for grabs. However, if you and your spouse never lived in the flat together, and they had no benefit from the flat (eg none of the rental income was ever added to family funds) then it will be extremely difficult (but never impossible) for them to lay claim to a share.

Even if an asset does not become part of the family pot, it will still be relevant. For example, if your separate pot is, say £1m, but your joint assets are only £500,000, you may find that a court gives the other party a much bigger slice of the family pot because it will perceive that because you have your own, substantial, pot, you don’t need as big a share of the family pot as your ex does.

So what’s the answer?

Well, obviously the easy answer is don’t get married.  If you are simply living together, then it is much harder (although never impossible) for your ex to have a claim over your assets. The two main exceptions to that would be if you have children (your ex may be entitled to child support) and if your ex’s name was on the title for any properties and/or had contributed towards the improvement of any of your properties.  Rights can be protected and liabilities avoided by taking legal advice at an early stage and having the appropriate paperwork in place such as a cohabitation agreement.

However, if wedding bells cannot be avoided, you can still protect yourself. Prenups do provide some clarification and at least encourage the parties to have an open and frank discussion at an early stage about how to deal with the worst-case scenario. You can also be clear in your own mind about what you want to put into the marriage, and what you want to keep separate. You may think that that is very unromantic, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still good advice. For example, with many people marrying or cohabiting for the second or third time, it’s often necessary to take into account children from previous relationships who may need to be protected.

Kleyman & Co Solicitors. The full-service law firm. Because not everyone lives happily ever after.