If you and your ex-partner own, or one of you owns, a property you lived in together then you may be able to make a claim under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA), which gives the court the power to make orders regulating property ownership.  

Under TOLATA the court can order the sale of a property and declare the parties’ beneficial shares in the property. The key issues that the court will consider when determining a TOLATA claim are what the parties’ intentions were in relation to property ownership, as well as any written agreement or declarations of trust.  The court will also consider the parties financial contributions towards the property and, to a limited extent, the welfare of any children living at the property.  

This is a complex area of law, and our family lawyers have experience making and defending TOLATA claims.  

For some cases, mainly those where there is greater wealth, Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 allows the family court to make financial provision for children and it is mostly used in cases where the parents have not been married and therefore have no right to financial support for themselves under matrimonial law.  Claims under Schedule 1 can be for housing during the child’s minority, equipping the home, educational costs for the child, lump sums for one-off items like cars and additional maintenance, referred to as ‘top up’ maintenance, where the other parent is a high earner earning a gross income over £156,000 per annum.  The considerations for the court when deciding these cases are the financial needs of the child, standards of living (both during the relationship and of the paying parent since) and the extent to which the applicant parent should be contributing to these costs themselves.   Each parent is required to provide full details of their current financial position, including income and capital, to enable the court to decide on the appropriate financial provision to be made for the child.

The general costs rule for Children Act 1989 applications that there is “no order as to costs” does not apply to Schedule 1 proceedings or to TOLATA claims, so this means you could be ordered to pay the other party’s legal costs in particular circumstances.  It is therefore essential that you seek specialist family law advice at the outset of your separation and before any court applications are considered.