QLD Property Rights - Does Ex Have a Claim?

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AAMGEL

Member
31 March 2020
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Hi,

So a long messy saga follows... 9 years ago my husband passed away & I received his full life insurance & his govsuper as a fortnightly pension.

I stupidly fell into a relationship 8 months after my husband's death & I now realise I was manipulated by this man during a time when I couldn't see clearly. It has recently(finally) ended & it was a very volatile, toxic relationship, but he keeps telling me he's entitled to half of everything.

The many stupid parts are that I bought a block of land & put his name on the deed even though I paid 100% for it with my late husband's insurance. I also have a house that I 100% paid for & is fully in my name, but it was built by my ex with me as the owner builder. I paid his tax debt & a loan as payment for building the house, which I did have a written agreement with him but that paperwork has since "disappeared". I also paid 100% for a car that is in joint names.

An excavator that is in his name but I paid 100% for. 2 motorbikes in his name that I paid 100% for. I have paid all rates, regos, insurance, utilities, food, holidays etc, not him. He did the heavy maintenance but every other job was shared. That was another written agreement that disappeared... that I covered his bills in lieu of his labour. I also have another block of land in my name only & a mortgage in my name only, where I hired him as the builder, but he has dragged the build-out for over 3 years with constantly using it as leverage against me to get his way. I have 4 children to my late husband & none to my ex. I also have a DVO against him.

He has also told me if I take this to lawyers & court, that I will be the one losing...so he offered a deal of me giving him 200grand & he will walk away. I don't have a tenth of that type of money, as its assets on my home & 2 blocks of land, plus the excavator, car & bikes.

So now that I've established my stupidity & naivety, my questions are...

Does he have a right to my property or anything in shared names, even though it was paid for 100% by me & from my husband's life insurance?

Do I have a right to the items I paid for, but fully in his name?

Can he claim any of my pension?

Can I remove his name from the vacant land?

With the half-built/unfinished house, can I claim compensation because he never finished it within a "reasonable" time frame? And because he walked away from the build regardless of the debt he has left me in? His name is still registered with Qbcc as the builder(start date approx March 2017).

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated & what path I should next take regarding my property rights.

Thank you for reading.
 

Rob Legat - SBPL

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16 February 2017
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I suggest you re-post this in the Family Law thread as your questions are more relevant to that area of law.
 

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
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Yeah re-post in family law.

But I'll give you a few thoughts.

"He has also told me if I take this to lawyers & court, that I will be the one losing." Never ever take advice from your ex. What possible benefit could that bring you? All he is trying to do is steal from you.

The agreements that have been lost. Forget them. Even IF you had them, they are toilet paper. Only solicitors can make contracts.

Is he entitled to half of everything? Nope. Not even close.

So my advice. I don't like my opinion... What is in his name is his. What is in your name is yours. What is in joint names is a problem.

So the car - I'm in NSW. Each state has different ways of going to car ownership.

Are you in possession of the car ATM? If so, great. If not and you're paying off a loan on the car, stop paying.

The block of land that is in joint names... That is gonna be a bit of a problem. Offer to sell it and give him a chunk.

This bit is important. None of this should be done without a solicitor. Why? Well, you give him $10 000 for argument's sake. He agrees that he is walking away with the machinery in his name and the cash. He changes his mind and comes back for more. You're screwed... But a legally binding contract through a solicitor is watertight.

What else? Well in de facto you have 2 yrs to make a claim against someone... So maybe, you could hang out for 2 yrs. If he doesn't make a claim sweet (Kinda - see he could still make a claim but he would have to establish grounds for taking so long) But there is still this block of land to deal with.

So the bikes and excavator. You paid for them? You can prove you paid for them? You really need to go see a solicitor for good advice.

"With the half-built/unfinished house, can I claim compensation because he never finished it within a "reasonable" time frame? And because he walked away from the build regardless of the debt he has left me in? His name is still registered with Qbcc as the builder( start date approx March 2017). "

No idea - See you're dealing with 3 different forms of law. Property law, family law, and contract law regarding the build. I know nothing about this so not even gonna try to help. Oh, and criminal law because of the AVO...

Final thought - Family law / property law is fair. Just because you marry someone today doesn't mean they're entitled to half your stuff the next day. So nope, the pension is safe, your assets are safe and by the sounds of things, most importantly, you are safe.