Lords ruling clarifies property rights of cohabitees

The House of Lords ruled in the case of Stack Vs Dowden, Ms Dowden should receive 65% of the sale proceeds of the family home, rather than 50% as she had contributed more to the purchase of the house. Although the judges admitted the case was an unusual one as both parties had kept their financial affairs “rigidly separate” the ruling has provided clarification for unmarried couples in general. Mary Webber, cohabitation expert for the LivingTogether campaign run by Advicenow, welcomes the ruling by the Law Lords as she says it provides clarification that where a couple own a house in jo...