Unfortunately there are still insufficient legal protections in place for couples who split up and are not married. If a couple who are married argue about the finances following separation, the divorce courts will help them to divide the marital assets fairly and equitably.
Sadly, despite lobbying for rights for cohabiting couples, the government has put nothing in place. This is probably for policy reasons as they want to encourage marriage and giving cohabiting couples the same or similar rights as married couples is seen as reducing the incentive to tie the knot or enter into a civil partnership.
This means that couples who split up are often in for a shock. They may have been in a relationship for years and own property together. It may come as a surprise to some that there is no automatic right to a share of pensions or savings held by one of the couple even if the other has given up their career to bring up children.
Couples are often left with the options of walking away or bringing a claim through the civil courts relying upon archaic legal authorities to prove a claim,
Legal action can be expensive, particularly if the case drags on for years. It can also affect people’s health. This is why we recommend civil mediation for what are known as Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act cases (otherwise known by the shorthand “TOLATA”)
We have helped to resolve many such claims using remote or in person mediation, which is a form of alternative dispute resolution. Essentially the former couple, and often their lawyers, have a settlement meeting with an independent mediator to discuss the case on a without prejudice basis and try to resolve their financial differences. Mediation has a good success record, with typically over 90% of cases being settled through mediation.
To arrange one, you will need the other person to agree to use this method of resolving the case. The Courts are very encouraging of alternative dispute resolution and in fact expect people to try it. Mediation is normally quite simple to arrange once the parties have decided to go ahead. It’s just a case of getting the details of potential mediators, agreeing on one and leave it to us to arrange everything else.
On the day of the mediation itself, you can either attend remotely or in person, whatever suits you both best. You do not have to meet them in person if you don’t want to.
Summary of TOLATA claims:
TOLATA or Trust of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, gives the court the power to resolve property ownership or land issues. This means that if there’s a disagreement over a piece of land or a property on that land, the court can step in and make a decision.
TOLATA is often relied on when unmarried couples separate and they own a piece of land or property together. The court can decide who is entitled to occupy the property or whether it should be sold. For example, TOLATA gives the court the ability to make decisions such as:
– Forcing the sale of land or property
– Determining what share of a property each party owns
– Enabling third parties, eg parents to recover their interest in a property