I own a property with another person,not my spouse. For 15 years, he has had exclusive use of the property,and has paid the taxes. I provided most of the down payment.
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I own a property with another person,not my spouse. For 15 years, he has had exclusive use of the property,and has paid the taxes. I provided most of the down payment.
There are no other agreements regarding ownership share. Do I still own half of
the property ?
Asked on June 14, 2018 under Real Estate Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
No, not using property, or not even paying the taxes on it, has no effect on your ownership of the property.
However, in the event of a sale of the property, he could likely get a court (if you and he could not voluntarily agree on the distribution of the proceeds) to award him more of the proceeds to compensate him for having paid expenses you did not--e.g. award him an amount equal to the taxes he paid. Or he could potentially sue you to force you to compensate him for the share of taxes which you should have paid.
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