Clients Cohabiting - Concerns for the Conveyancer

Introduction

In the course of any conveyancing practice you will come across clients who already live together or are instructing you on a property purchase with a view to moving in together. There is also the situation where there is an aging parent who moves in with their children or who joins in with a larger purchase for them all to live in. Apart from married couples or those in Civil Partnerships there are those who move in together for purely economic reasons sharing the burden of the mortgage or siblings cohabiting for similar reasons.

You will need to be able to advise on legal relationships, trusts which may arise, tax, conflict of interest and when to require separate representation - much more than simply completing a Land Registry Transfer.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

• Constructive trusts where property is transferred to one party but both live there - Fattal v Fattal [2022]
• SDLT 5% surcharge implications on the purchase of a ‘granny flat’ or annexe
• Conflict of interest in the context of joint buyers, Duties of Disclosure and Separate Representation, SRA Code 2019. Law Society Guide to conflict in conveyancing
• ‘Gifted deposits’, inheritance tax implications
• Wills and inter-family disputes, other offspring
• Difficulties with joint ownership. declarations of trust and problem cases. Rectification: Day & Another v Day (2013) EWCA
• Practical difficulties, aging and social care
• A look at the Law Society Guide to Moving in Together
• Mortgage problems, 'other occupiers'/'sharing possession' covenants, equity release
• Fraud - is the person in front of you really the spouse or parent? A fraudster 'moving in…' Dhillon v Barclays Bank [2019] EWHC
• Pre-nuptial agreements, Cohabitation agreements and what can go wrong

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.