When an unmarried couple buys property, and more particularly real estate, we are in a situation of joint ownership. This means that the property is deemed to belong to both buyers according to the proportions indicated in the deed of purchase, most often 50/50.
Joint ownership also allows one of the joint owners to act judicially to force him to sell. While this purchase seems legally straightforward when the couple makes it, things can get complicated when they separate. For example, due to the absence of marriage, no Family Judge will be able to say who remains in the premises, even if there are dependent children, because this joint building will not be considered as the "marital home. In the legal sense.
Moreover, if the identity of the husband who paid the maturities of the mortgage does not impact the sharing by half of the value of the property in the event of divorce, the question is not so simple in matters of joint ownership outside marriage.
The Cabinet FOURNIER is at your disposal to advise you from your desire to purchase, until the exit from joint possession, as well as to establish, if necessary, a liquidation-partition project which will then be approved by a Notary. The latter’s intervention is indeed mandatory as soon as an act involves a real estate transfer.