Some couples live together for years, and even raise children together, without getting legally married to each other. If you ask them why, they might tell you that it is because divorce is expensive. Perhaps they have been married and divorced before and never want to go through that experience again. If you are not legally married to your partner, breakups are simpler in the sense that you can simply declare your relationship dissolved, one of you can move out of the house you share, and you can both move on with your lives. The trouble is that, when couples own property together, chances are that they will be resentful that they came away from the relationship with so little to show for the financial investments they made. Getting your fair share of the property you shared with your unmarried partner is a challenge, but the law gives you the same rights as anyone who legally owns an asset with another person. This is substantially less than the rights of a spouse in a divorce, but your chances that breaking up with your unmarried partner will impoverish you are less if you contact a Clintwood family law attorney.
You Only Own Property Jointly With Your Partner if the Paperwork Says So
In a divorce, almost everything acquired by either spouse during a marriage is marital property. This means that, even if your spouse owned her house before you got married, and you moved in after the wedding, the amount that the house’s value increased during your marriage is marital property. If you were out of the workforce for a few years when your children were babies, the money your spouse earned during that time is also marital property. This means you are entitled to your fair share in a divorce. Virginia’s equitable distribution laws say that couples and family court judges can decide on a case-by-case basis what is fair.
Unmarried domestic partners do not have these same rights. You cannot invoke equitable distribution if you contributed to the mortgage payments on a house your partner owns in his name alone. The only assets that the court is legally required to divide are the ones that have both partners’ names on the deed or title.
Parents are Parents, Whether or Not They are Married
If you and your unmarried partner have children together, your rights and obligations are as inalienable as those of married parents. You have the right to request a court-ordered parenting plan; most couples determine the terms of the parenting plan during mediation, but if you cannot agree, the court will decide which parent will be with the children on which days of the year. Based on the parenting plan and on each parent’s financial situation, the court will also issue a child support order.
Contact Greg Baker Attorneys at Law PLLC About Co-Parenting When You and Your Ex Were Never Married to Each Other
The lawyers at Greg Baker Attorneys at Law PLLC serve the southwestern Virginia community in criminal defense cases and other areas of the law. Contact Greg Baker Attorneys at Law PLLC to set up a consultation.