Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts does not recognize Common law marriage. Therefore the Domestic Relations Laws of Massachusetts would be of no assistance to you.

You stated that you are both on the mortgage, and I assume you are both on the deed? If you are and your concern is with the down payment that you were 100% responsible for - if the property were to be sold, or if you or her were to buy the other out, than you should be credited for the downpayment and the remainder of the proceeds should be split 50/50. If she were to disagree with that option, you would need to seek relief through the civil courts.

I hope that helped!

Thank you,

I would advise that you and your partner sit down with an attorney and work out a domestic partnership/property ownership agreement with respect to your jointly owned property. In the event that your relationship ends, you have a number of options. You could agree to sell the home or purchase the other person's interest. You could also agree that one of you will live there and pay 100% of the mortgage in lieu of rent to the other co-owner. A dispute of this type would most certainly end up in a petition to partition the property, where one of you asks the court to force the sale of the home and split the proceeds of the property.

Absent an agreement as suggested by Attorney Vaughn-Martel, you will wind up in a Petition to Partition which would result in one of you buying the other out or the home being sold. The result would be more expensive for both of you than agreeing on what happens in the event there is an end to the relationship.

Can either of you refinance the mortgage if you had to do so? If not, it will make a division more difficult.