Ben and Alice decided to buy a house together when Alice became pregnant at the age of seventeen. Ben very quickly regretted this decision, particularly after the baby was born. Their relationship deteriorated and Alice took the baby for a long visit to her parents in France. Ben decided to sell the house, without telling Alice. He found a buyer, Charlie, and negotiations to sell the house proceeded quickly. Charlie looked around the house, and noticed items belonging to Alice. Ben told him that his girlfriend had briefly lived there, but the relationship was now over. By the time Alice returned from France, the house had been sold to Charlie, and Ben had disappeared with the proceeds of sale. Is my daughter’s interest in the land overreached, and what possible solutions do I have?

Arthur Weller replies:
Look at www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/capital- gains-manual/cg22020 and www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal- manuals/capital-gains-manual/cg65310. You can see that the courts have powers to recognise the equitable interest of a spouse in the matrimonial home, even though that spouse may have no legal title in the property. If the couple were not married, https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/capital-gains-manual/cg70230 may help in establishing that she owned half the beneficial ownership in the property, i.e. the fact that she provided funds to purchase the property, and she occupied the property. Consequently, she should be entitled to half the sale proceeds.