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She Wants It Now |
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Dear Edith: My fiancee and I bought our house a few years ago. She recently moved out, the engagement is off. She now wants a settlement in return for transferring the deed. However, I paid the closing costs, down payment, and all mortgage payments and taxes. In effect, she lived in the house rent-free. Does she have any right to demand a reappraisal and ask for half the difference in the increase in value? |
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Unless your deed specifies something different, your ex-fiancee does own exactly half the property as it stands right now.
Before you bought, you should have visited a lawyer together and worked out a written agreement that would cover all sorts of "what- if"s--sort of a non-nuptial pre-nuptial agreement.
What would happen if one of you left town, or went bankrupt, for example? If of you died, would you want your share to go to each other or to your parents? And, though it would have been unpleasant to discuss, what if you split up? Though you aren't married, your problem is similar to those found in some divorces. Mediation services could be helpful. |
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Edith
Originally published on February 6, 2006 |
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