Kernott v. Jones. Sort it out now! Don't hang about.

This case has created serious publicity for what courts can do for the unmarried and separated, but is it of any help to you?

It is truly amazing how the Supreme Court can make it sound as if the law is just so straightforward.  If you haven't seen the judgment, you can find it here:-

http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2011/53.html

The story is quite simple:

1. "The parties met in 1980. Ms Jones worked as a mobile hairdresser. Mr Kernott worked as a self employed ice-cream salesman during the summer and claimed benefits during the winter if he could find no other work. The judge found that their incomes were not very different from one another. Ms Jones bought a mobile home in her sole name in 1981. Mr Kernott moved in with her (according to the agreed statement of facts and issues) in 1983. Their first child was born in June 1984. In May 1985 Ms Jones sold her mobile home and the property in question in these proceedings, 39 Badger Hall Avenue, Thundersley, Essex, was bought in their joint names.
2. The purchase price was £30,000. This was relatively cheap because the house had belonged to the elderly mother of a client of Ms Jones. The deposit of £6000 was paid from the proceeds of sale of Ms Jones' mobile home. The balance was raised by way of an endowment mortgage in their joint names. Mr Kernott paid £100 per week towards the household expenses while they lived at the property. Ms Jones paid the mortgage and other household bills out of their joint resources. In March 1986 they jointly took out a loan of £2000 to build an extension. Mr Kernott did some of the labouring work and paid friends and relations to do other work on it. The judge found that the extension probably enhanced the value of the property by around 50%, from £30,000 to £44,000. Their second child was born in September 1986.
3. Mr Kernott moved out of the property in October 1993. The parties had lived there together, sharing the household expenses, for eight years and five months. Thereafter Ms Jones remained living in the property with the children and paid all the household expenses herself. Mr Kernott made no further contribution towards the acquisition of the property and the judge also found that he made very little contribution to the maintenance and support of their two children who were being looked after by their mother. This situation continued for some 14 and a half years until the hearing before the judge.
4. The Badger Hall Avenue property was put on the market in October 1995 for £69,995, but was not sold. This may be some indication of its market value at that time but no more than that. At some date which is not entirely clear, the parties agreed to cash in a joint life insurance policy (not, of course, the endowment policy supporting the mortgage) and the proceeds were divided between them. The judge held that this was to enable Mr Kernott to put down a deposit on a home of his own. This he did in May 1996, when he bought 114 Stanley Road, Benfleet, for around £57,000 with a deposit of £2,800 and a mortgage of £54,150. The judge observed that he was able to afford his own accommodation because he was not making any contribution towards the former family home, nor was he making any significant contribution towards the support of his children. The judge also found that "whilst the intentions of the parties may well have been at the outset to provide them as a couple with a home for themselves and their progeny, those intentions have altered significantly over the years to the extent that [Mr Kernott] demonstrated that he had no intention until recently of availing himself of the beneficial ownership in this property, having ignored it completely by way of any investment in it or attempt to maintain or repair it whilst he had his own property on which he concentrated".
5. At the time of the hearing before the judge in April 2008, 39 Badger Hall Avenue was valued at £245,000. The outstanding mortgage debt was £26,664. The endowment policy supporting that mortgage was worth £25,209. On the basis that they had contributed jointly to the endowment for eight years and five months and that Ms Jones had contributed alone for fourteen and a half years, it was calculated that Mr Kernott was entitled to around £4712 of its value, which would leave Ms Jones with £20,497. 114 Stanley Road was valued at £205,000, with an outstanding mortgage of £37,968 (suggesting that this was a repayment rather than an endowment mortgage). If the whole of the endowment policy was used to discharge the mortgage, the net worth of 39 Badger Hall Avenue would be £243,545. If the mortgage on 114 Stanley Road was an ordinary repayment mortgage, the net worth of 114 Stanley Road would be £167,032"

So in essence, Ms. Jones paid the mortgage on her own for over 14 years.  The first judge said that although the title said they owned the property equally, she should actually get 90% of the money.  The Court of Appeal  said this was wrong.  In essence, it said that the land registry entry had the last word.  The Supreme Court has now said that the judge at first instance was right all along.  Although when they bought the house they intended it to be equally owned, the way the conducted themselves over the 14+ years showed that they had changed their agreement.

Hence, the court presumed that what they had changed to was a fair share principle and the court assessed that at 90:10.

So what does this mean in practice?  For a handful of cohabitation cases, there is now uncertainty.  For most however, things are the same as they always were.  The best advice is to get all your finances and property sorted out as soon as you can after separating.  Delay can lead to uncertainty and uncertainty often leads to big legal bills!

Just one addendum, I read this section of the judgment with some concern -

"Had their beneficial interests in the property remained the same, there would have been the possibility of cross-claims: Mr Kernott against Ms Jones for an occupation rent, and Ms Jones against Mr Kernott for his half share in the mortgage interest and endowment premiums which she had paid. It is quite likely, however, that the court would hold that there was no liability to pay an occupation rent, at least while the home was needed for the couple's children, whereas the liability to contribute towards the mortgage and endowment policy would accumulate at compound interest over the years since he ceased to contribute."

This seems to suggest that if the children are at home, the mother can have use of the father's share of the house without paying him rent for it.  However, the father still has to pay half the mortgage!  Surely in this post CSA era the CSA maintenance will deal with this?