Cohabitating - Separating: valuations on items

Penny Dreadful

Hi,

I lived with my ex for almost 5 years and broke up over 2 years ago. Recently he has started to look for money or items from the house from me.
I phoned the Citizens Advice and they said that if this were to go before a judge the worst case scenario is that he would be entitled to have either half of the furniture back or get the monetary value for half of it.
The value would be taken as it is today. This furniture is 4 years old and I was wondering if anyone knows how you would value these items?
I was thinking of asking the shop where we bought them if they would be able to value something they sold 4 years on?
One website I found said that if you take 20% depreciation for each of the first 4 years and then 5% for each subsequent year you have the valuation. This would mean that the furniture is worth 20% of what was initially paid and that he would be entitled to 10% of this?

Any help or advice gratefully appreciated.

Abi

Hi Penny

I'm not really sure on this one. Do you have a solicitor? I know it's not exactly legal advice you're looking for here, but I'm sure a solicitor would know how to go about your situation.


I bought everything that stands in my house, so thankfully that hasn't been an issue for me. Maybe someone will come along here with experience of it, but my thoughts on it would be to hit the solicitors office.


best of luck

Penny Dreadful

Abi wrote: »

Hi Penny

I'm not really sure on this one. Do you have a solicitor? I know it's not exactly legal advice you're looking for here, but I'm sure a solicitor would know how to go about your situation.


I bought everything that stands in my house, so thankfully that hasn't been an issue for me. Maybe someone will come along here with experience of it, but my thoughts on it would be to hit the solicitors office.


best of luck

Thanks for the reply.

Its a funny one really. I owned the house we lived in and lived there for a couple of years before he moved in. At that time all of the furniture etc in the house had been paid for by me.
A couple of years later, he took out a loan to buy a fair bit of stuff for himself, clear off his credit card, we went to NYC on a trip, and we ot some new furniture.
2 years or so later we broke up.
Offers of items were made at the time and refused which is why I'm surprised at this late stage (more than 2 years later) he is back looking for stuff.

His suggestion is that I give him half of the loan or give him the furniture. Half of the loan is a joke and not happening. If I give the furniture I have nothing for myself. Also as it was purchased for "us" I figure I'm entitled to half of it especially as I offered to split it initially and this was refused.

So the lady I spoke to in the Advice Bureau said that if this goes before a judge the offer that was rejected may play against him. However, if half is the agreement arrived at, then it will be half of the value today.
I have the receipts for the items and I was just wondering how to go about valuing it.

Abi

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

Its a funny one really. I owned the house we lived in and lived there for a couple of years before he moved in. At that time all of the furniture etc in the house had been paid for by me.
A couple of years later, he took out a loan to buy a fair bit of stuff for himself, clear off his credit card, we went to NYC on a trip, and we ot some new furniture.
2 years or so later we broke up.
Offers of items were made at the time and refused which is why I'm surprised at this late stage (more than 2 years later) he is back looking for stuff.

His suggestion is that I give him half of the loan or give him the furniture. Half of the loan is a joke and not happening. If I give the furniture I have nothing for myself. Also as it was purchased for "us" I figure I'm entitled to half of it especially as I offered to split it initially and this was refused.

So the lady I spoke to in the Advice Bureau said that if this goes before a judge the offer that was rejected may play against him. However, if half is the agreement arrived at, then it will be half of the value today.
I have the receipts for the items and I was just wondering how to go about valuing it.

Half of the loan or give you the furniture.. he's some lad

Definitely one for the solicitor Penny. Bring your receipts with you, they'll be dated and all. He's chancing his arm with you, but have none of it

Penny Dreadful

Abi wrote: »

Half of the loan or give you the furniture.. he's some lad

Definitely one for the solicitor Penny. Bring your receipts with you, they'll be dated and all. He's chancing his arm with you, but have none of it

Yeah, it does feel like he is chancing it. He has a new girlfriend too and I'm wondering if some of this is being pushed by her or if he is trying to save face.

If I get in touch with a solicitor and they advise me that should be enough for now really shouldn't it?

Ken.

I know its been 2 years but i hope you got back all keys from him. If not get the locks changed so he can't come into the house when your not there and remove stuff.

Taltos

Definitely feels like he is chancing his arm here - a letter from your solicitor might put a stop to this. Maybe he is trying to spook you into paying out but you would be better off getting some legal advice just to cover the bases on this, especially as two years have now passed.

Penny Dreadful

lucyfur09 wrote: »

I know its been 2 years but i hope you got back all keys from him. If not get the locks changed so he can't come into the house when your not there and remove stuff.

I got the keys back straight away. I was thinking back on that time that he took out the loan and if I remember it correctly it was a top up on a loan that he already had in existance. It totalled €25000 in the end but the furniture in question was only a tiny part of that.
He wants me to pay €12500 of this initial and then topped up loan.

Pandora2

He is taking the proverbial;) From what you describe none of this was an issue for a considerable period of time.....have his financial circumstances changed in recent times??

I would ignore until a solicitor's letter arrives....if he is broke he'll have trouble getting anyone to take a case based on used furniture!! You are note clear as to whether you were married or co-habiting......this I would imagine has a bearing on whether or not young have any liability on the loan.

Honestly, I think he has caught one too many episodes of Judge Judy tbh!! They are always after Bedroom set's & Love Seat's

tinkerbell

Definitely get some legal advice but tbh I really think he's chancing his arm. And I think Judge Judy would tell him to take a running jump! It's been 2 years since you split, if he wanted furniture or whatever then he should have asked for it THEN, not 2 years later. I would also suggest that since you owned the house, he was living there rent free presumably (or did you charge him rent?)

shopaholic01

Went through something similar a couple of years ago. Back then it was a different case - an equity civil bill. Law changed mid 2010 giving cohabiting couples more rights to their ex partners property, rights to maintenance if necessary etc. Don't know if he can start proceedings now. Get the correct legal advice from a family law solicitor and ignore him in the mean time unless you get a letter from his solicitor. In my case it came down to not only what we each calimed to have contributed but what we could prove so maybe start trying to gather this info just in case. Good luck, some people say its hard to find a man, I've always found it difficutl to get rid of them;):D!

Pandora2

shopaholic01 wrote: »

Went through something similar a couple of years ago. Back then it was a different case - an equity civil bill. Law changed mid 2010 giving cohabiting couples more rights to their ex partners property, rights to maintenance if necessary etc. Don't know if he can start proceedings now. Get the correct legal advice from a family law solicitor and ignore him in the mean time unless you get a letter from his solicitor. In my case it came down to not only what we each calimed to have contributed but what we could prove so maybe start trying to gather this info just in case. Good luck, some people say its hard to find a man, I've always found it difficutl to get rid of them:D!

Ain't that the truth!!;)

StillWaters

Don't start thinking abou Court or solicitors for some second hand furniture.

Have a look at adverts or donedeal, 2nd hand sells for about one third of original value, so anything he bought jointly with you, he should be entitled to one sixth of the original value. Anything he paid for himself, just give it to him.

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

If I give the furniture I have nothing for myself. Also as it was purchased for "us" I figure I'm entitled to half of it especially as I offered to split it initially and this was refused.



.

If you are sitting on a couch / watching a TV he is still paying for, I can see how he is sore, just give it back to him, and buy some 2nd hand for yourself until you can afford new.


Not worth the fight imo.

Penny Dreadful

StillWaters wrote: »

Don't start thinking abou Court or solicitors for some second hand furniture.

Have a look at adverts or donedeal, 2nd hand sells for about one third of original value, so anything he bought jointly with you, he should be entitled to one sixth of the original value. Anything he paid for himself, just give it to him.





If you are sitting on a couch / watching a TV he is still paying for, I can see how he is sore, just give it back to him, and buy some 2nd hand for yourself until you can afford new.


Not worth the fight imo.

Which is exactly what I was going to do when we split up initially. I offered to give him stuff, split the household items, etc when he was moving out and he said no. By offering to do that then, it was in a bid to have a clean cut break without it dragging on for ages.

He had to come back twice to take more stuff, his PC, surround sound stuff, etc and each time I again asked about splitting the items. Each time he said no.
Now 2 years later he decides that he wants them back. I don't think there is a whole lot of fairness about that.
DVDs, CDs, lamps, kitchen equipment, bed linens, etc were all split and he got half of that stuff. He didn't leave empty handed.
He is finding things tough financially but so is everyone. I am not going to take on the burden of his debts when there is no earthly obligation for me to.

StillWaters

Goodness no, you have no obligation to take on his debt. I do think he is entitled to have returned to him items he is still paying for though.

Yes he should have taken your deal 2 years ago, but is it really worth 1k in court costs, and dragging this on for furniture worth a couple of hundred?

Penny Dreadful

StillWaters wrote: »

Goodness no, you have no obligation to take on his debt. I do think he is entitled to have returned to him items he is still paying for though.

Yes he should have taken your deal 2 years ago, but is it really worth 1k in court costs, and dragging this on for furniture worth a couple of hundred?

That question works both ways?

Anyway, he wants me to give him €12500 or the furniture in place of it.
A couch (x2) and a table and chairs (x6) will not amount to that much money even brand new never mind 4 years old.
Also, I wonder, if I give him this stuff now, will he decide that he is owed something else (one line of his email did say that having lived together for so long he could come after more) and will I be setting a precedent.
He has recently found out that I've gotten engaged too and I did wonder if that news prompted some of this.

I would have happily given him almost anything when we were breaking up just to get the actual break up over and done with. I've moved on with my life, rebuilt and refocused and I am very annoyed at him for stirring all this up again now.

StillWaters

Yes the question works both ways, had he posted here, I would proffer the same question.
Unless there is something else he used that loan for, such as paying off debt for you, there is no way you are liable for it and there isn't a solicitor in the country would take on his case.

Just give him back the couches and table, buy some of your own, and move on.

Penny Dreadful

StillWaters wrote: »

Yes the question works both ways, had he posted here, I would proffer the same question.
Unless there is something else he used that loan for, such as paying off debt for you, there is no way you are liable for it and there isn't a solicitor in the country would take on his case.

Just give him back the couches and table, buy some of your own, and move on.[/QUOTE]

I had. I spent 2 years moving on. Thought he had too.
Re: the couches, really wouldn't he just be entitled to half? When I spoke to the CA people, they said, that if it came right down to it and it went to court, then he would be entitled to either half a couch, etc or half of the 4 year old value of said furniture.
They also said that it would stand very badly against him that a) so much time had passed and b) he didn't accept any of the offers made initially.

So really and truly, I am now of the opinion, that its water under the bridge, he is struggling financially and he wants me to ease his life for him. The time for me making anything easier for him is long past.

the_syco

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

A couch (x2) and a table and chairs (x6) will not amount to that much money even brand new never mind 4 years old.

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

one line of his email did say that having lived together for so long he could come after more

Ask a solicitor about the above, as it sounds like he wants to get into the house to see what else he "remembers" to have bought during the time he lived there. I'm guessing he's moved in with his new gf, and wants freebies to furnish his present house. Also mention to the solicitor the below

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

Offers of items were made at the time and refused which is why I'm surprised at this late stage (more than 2 years later) he is back looking for stuff.

as he may be able to say that as your offer at the time was refused, tough.

Also ask the solicitor what would happen if you got rid of the furniture and bought a new set, could you charge your ex for the transport company? See how far he runs when you mention the bill :P

Penny Dreadful

the_syco wrote: »

Ask a solicitor about the above, as it sounds like he wants to get into the house to see what else he "remembers" to have bought during the time he lived there. I'm guessing he's moved in with his new gf, and wants freebies to furnish his present house. Also mention to the solicitor the below

as he may be able to say that as your offer at the time was refused, tough.

Also ask the solicitor what would happen if you got rid of the furniture and bought a new set, could you charge your ex for the transport company? See how far he runs when you mention the bill :P

I'm just fed up with this. Now, every morning when I check my emails I'm dreading seeing one from him. We're broken up, a long time too, and this should not be on my mind again.

Ken.

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

I'm just fed up with this. Now, every morning when I check my emails I'm dreading seeing one from him. We're broken up, a long time too, and this should not be on my mind again.

If you have an email of his in your inbox/saved mark it as spam and blacklist the email address. You'll get no more mails from him.

Penny Dreadful

tinkerbell wrote: »

Definitely get some legal advice but tbh I really think he's chancing his arm. And I think Judge Judy would tell him to take a running jump! It's been 2 years since you split, if he wanted furniture or whatever then he should have asked for it THEN, not 2 years later. I would also suggest that since you owned the house, he was living there rent free presumably (or did you charge him rent?)

A little update. After my initial post here on Feb 24th (sent after the latest email from my ex) I had a rather aggressive email from him approx 1 month later. In it he said that I had left him with no choice but to consult with a solicitor and threatened to come after my house too if I didn't pay off half of the loan or give him back the list of things he requested.
I was really shaken by this and set about finding a solicitor. However, between a few things and my being sick for a while, I never did anything and I've heard nothing from him since.
Could it possibly be that he has left me alone at last? Was he bluffing?

Taltos

Who knows - maybe he was chancing his arm again / gets off on bullying you / his solicitor advised him he had no case / he has not gotten around to it.

If you are still concerned and you appear to be - why not seek some legal advice yourself - at a minimum it will help put your mind at ease, who knows you may even have a case for harrasment if you have records of his attempts to contact you for money...

2 years later? I wouldn't entertain him.

Call his bluff and let him try and take you to court.

Dizzyblonde

This thread hasn't had a new post in 9 years so I'm closing it.