TOLATA Applications & Disputes Solicitors

Couples in lawfully recognised married-type relationships should settle their property affairs by legally dissolving their relationship, for example, through divorce proceedings. Otherwise, if you and your ‘informal’ former partner shared property together but were never actually legally married (so you can’t get legally divorced), it may be that a ‘trust’ arrangement applies to relevant property. English and Welsh law contains the jurisdiction of TOLATA. 

TOLATA grants the Court power to make property decisions in disputes arising from informal partnerships concerning ownership and occupation of property. Therefore, TOLATA may give rights to people not actually named on the title to the property. 

The basic headline position is that the Court has a wide discretion to make whatever order the Court considers to be fair in all the circumstances, especially considering any evidence of:

• Who paid for what
• What the agreement or reasonable expectations of the parties were and/or became
• What’s fair in relation to other relevant circumstances such as dependents (children), employment, prospects, relative wealth, health, age and all other relevant factors

Before litigating, the parties should exhaust all reasonable prospects of negotiating a settlement without going to Court. The chances are that if the Court’s jurisdiction is invoked through litigation, the Court’s decision will be between the extremes proposed by the parties.

If parties cannot settle their dispute out of court, the process for making a TOLATA claim is:

• Letter Before Claim that sets out your case, ideally with evidence to support it
• Response
• Re-consideration of information settlement 
• Filing for a claim for the Court to decide