Joint Tenancy - if Ex dies does his child have rights to our house

[raspberry]

Was in a long term relationship (not married) and in 2006 we bought a house under joint tenancy. Mortgage in both names and we used the joint proceeds of the sale of our first home together as the deposit, so we equally contributed to the house and mortgage repayments.

last year he had an affair. our relationship ended and although there was lots of pain and anger and sadness when the affair was uncovered and our relationship ended we have somehow managed to come out the other side on ok terms and are still in communication. We are not arguing or fighting and things are amicable. He is still contributing and paying his half of the mortgage and he claims that he intends to do this and is fully committed to repaying his mortgage debt. We probably have 50% neg equity.

The affair didnt last, even though they had an unplanned baby earlier this year that relationship was short lived and ended badly.

I know this might sound like a selfish question but.......Considering that we have joint tenancy, In the event of the death of my Ex will his child have any rights to my home.

Does the fact that we are no longer living together does joint tenancy change?

I know that I will probably get advise to make a deal with bank, sell and restructure the neg equity debt but I dont want to sell, this was our dream home that we worked and saved so hard for and Im not yet ready or prepared to give it up just cause our relationship ended. PLus I would never get a mortgage on my own that would cover the neg equity and provide for another property that is comparable to what i have now.

I also dont want to go to our solicitor to ask as he is friendlier with my ex and I dont really want to open a can of worms.

Anyway, what I want to know is, in the unlikely event of the death of my ex, will his now ex-mistress be able to put any claim against my home in the name of her/their child.

Thanks,
Raspberry

PS: He doesnt have a will.

 

[Lucuma]

Assuming either a mortgage protection policy and/or a life assurance policy was taken out when ye took out your mortgage and that it is still being kept up, that means if your ex dies the mortgage will most likely be paid off (depending on the value of the mortgage protection and life assurance policies).

Under irish law all his children are entitled to a share of his estate, although not automatically - either the child or the child's mother would have to apply to the court for their share. Read 'rights of children under a will' under 'what happens to the deceased's estate' on the Citizens Information website. Your ex should make sure that all his children are provided for in the event of his death, for example he could take out a life assurance policy specifically to make sure that other child is taken care of in the event of his death, that would stop that child's mother from taking court cases against his estate (or should do).

Another thing I would watch out for - at the moment your ex is paying his half of the mortgage out of guilt i.e. there's nothing legally obliging him to pay it. Guilt will only last so long, maybe a few years, so you need to be prepared for the fact that he may not indefinitely keep up this arrangement. Hopefully for you he will, but I'd have Plan B in my back pocket just in case that changes in the future.

 

[Padraigb]

In a joint tenancy, the house does not become part of the estate. When one of the joint owners dies, the house becomes the sole property of the survivor.

Yes, the mother of his child could seek some provision for the child, but only from any assets that belong to his estate.