The landmark ruling came in a case involving an unmarried couple's dispute over their £770,000 former home. Barry Stack, 51, wanted a 50 per cent share of the property, but his ex-partner, Dehra Dowden, was fighting for a 65 per cent share as she believed that she had made a larger financial contribution.

Barry and Dehra had been in a relationship since their teens in 1975. They went on to live together and to have four children. Like many couples who live together, they bought the house in North London, which they made their family home, in their joint names, but in their case Dehra provided by far the most money on the purchase. Dehra, an electrical engineer, earned more than Barry, who was a freelance builder. 

They bought the property back in 1983, when the Land Registry form for the transfer was not as sophisticated as it is now and it stated in only the barest of terms that if one of them died, the survivor could provide the receipt for all of the proceeds of sale. This usually indicates that the couple owns the property jointly and equally as 'joint tenants', despite the inequality of their financial contributions. Fortunately for Dehra, though, the ownership of the house and the related policy were the only items in which she and Barry shared their finances and in all their other financial matters they were separate.

As Baroness Hale said in the leading judgment, this makes their relationship somewhat unusual as most cohabiting couples after this time would be inextricably linked financially. As a result of the couple's financial independence from each other, the court ruled that Dehra was entitled to 65 per cent of the proceeds of the sale, which was even more significant as the house had hugely increased in value since it was purchased (it had risen in value by over £500,000).

Hopefully there will not be too many couples who are affected by this court ruling, which relates to the lack of clarity about the joint ownership of properties registered at the Land Registry prior to 1998 (using the old transfer form). However, it does highlight the danger that lawyers can presume too readily that a couple own a property equally when they purchased their home using this old form. More importantly, it stresses the importance of all couples who buy a property together, especially those who are unmarried, to instruct their conveyancing lawyer to prepare a deed setting out exactly what their ownership of the property is and what it will mean in the event of death or separation.

Francis Wilkinson, a barrister who acted for Mr Stack, said, 'If nothing else, it should give encouragement to all couples buying a home together without marriage or civil partnership to state clearly, either on the Land Registry transfer form or on a separate deed, the shares in which they own their new home...The legal costs of those are insignificant compared with the costs of going to court to sort it out later.'

This ruling in the case of Barry and Dehra was undoubtedly a fair decision based on the facts involved. However, all courts will still make judgments on each individual case and the law still has no blanket ruling on the rights of unmarried couples. 60 per cent of unmarried couples presume that they have legal rights as 'common-law husband and wife', when, in reality, no current clear laws exist on how their assets should be divided on separation. To be honest, the law still remains in a mess and it's in urgent need of reform because without it, fair decisions like this can only be met after expensive and time-consuming litigation. The sooner the government publishes a green paper for future reform in this area of the law, the better.

So until proper legislation is introduced letting unmarried couples have the same right as those who are married, don't presume that you will split things 50:50 if you split up. If you're unmarried and decide to buy a property with your partner, always get a lawyer to prepare a deed of ownership; otherwise, 30 years down the line, like Barry Stack, you too could be losing over £115,000.


Philippa Pearson is the author of the 'Unmarried Couples and the Law' and 'DIY Separation & Divorce Kit', both published by Lawpack Publishing. She specialises in all aspects of family law and is a member of the SFLA National Committee, the Lord Chancellor's Ancillary Relief Advisory Group and the SFLA Law Reform Committee. Philippa also writes and lectures on many aspects of family law.

Useful information
Find out your rights as an unmarried couple with Philippa's book Unmarried Couples and the Law
Living together? Find out why you need to make a Will today!
Protect yourself and download a Cohabitation Agreement today!
Thinking of getting married? Protect your assets by downloading a prenuptial agreement today!
Getting divorced? Find out how you can do your own DIY divorce with Philippa's Separation & Divorce Kit