jace65

Hi,

I'm hoping that someone on here will be able to help with a problem I have........

I am heading back to the UK tomorrow after separating from my husband (Portuguese). I will go back with nothing, except what I can fit into my suitcase..........just over a year ago we both arrived here, and I had everything!! My house (no money made!!) and car were sold in the UK before we moved and the property over here is in my husbands name only.

Do I have any rights at all??.............He has left me with nothing and now has a house over here that he says he will transfer into his parents names to stop me having any type of claim!! We were married in the UK 3 1/2 years ago, but his ID, passport etc still say he is single.............so he is saying our marriage isn't recognised in Portugal.

Is there anything I can do..................I don't even have any money to try and get legal advice over here before I go!!

Troia

If your marriage was in Portugal:

If the house it is in his name prior to your marriage you have to check out what was your marriage terms. In Portugal there is "comunhão de adquiridos" meaning only things acquired after marriage belongs to the couple and "comunhão total" means everything both have ever owned belongs to the couple. By law the first case is the default.

So the house would belong to your still husband. There is a legal figure called "casa de família" in which the court may decide that the house should be used as a family accommodation also for the member that is "leaving" but this case is generally used for long term marriages with children, and isnot automatically granted...

How ever if you contributed to the hose expenses you can claim back, again not automatically granted.

mikelincs

She says they were married in the UK.

Troia

I know, may be she can still register the marriage here and ask divorce here as well...

carvoeiro

Contact a solicitor in the UK immediately.
If you have any joint accounts in Portugal go to the bank and insist the account is frozen and any request for transfer of funds have to be authorised by both parties - or in the circumstance go and empty any joint accounts.
Sadly it will be difficult - hard as it is you shouldn't have left the house - instead you should have gone to court and forced your husband to leave.
If this is still possible do it
At this point it wouldn't matter who owns the house.
Make sure you have all paperwork possible -especially where you show ownership and sale of your house in the UK and transfer of funds to buy the house in Portugal.
Check with the Notary where you bought the house in Portugal that it is in fact registered in a single name - and hope it isn't
If you thought it was joint - talk to the Notary about this and if necessary make an accusation of fraud.
But you will need legal help immediately, probably in both countries http://ec.europa.eu/civiljustice/div...rce_por_en.htm = read this

Best of luck
Just a final thought - contact your embassy - maybe they can help.
Final final thought - take control , file for divorce in the UK and then it will be easier to apply UK law

stuboy

How is UK law going to help in a property dispute in Portugal.

I don't think it's good advice to advise 'emptying bank accounts'

As to transfer of funds, the OP said she made no money on the house sale.

carvoeiro

I'm sure the poster appreciates your advice Stuboy - actually you didn't give any
Certainly i don't appreciate your antagonism
The very least you can do is accurately read the posting before responding.

UK law, Portuguese law and Eu law all intermingle, its very complicated these days - being in control by starting divorce proceedings in the country that suits you best can give many advantages - the property dispute is only part of the issue.
As to emptying banks accounts - what do you prefer - leaving all of the money wth the husband who has apparently already totally ripped the poster off?
Again - read first - i said get all of the paperwork together showing clearly the house purchase in the UK by the poster , the transfer of funds from the posters bank account to pay for the Portuguese property to support the posters case in whichever country / way possible.
Take a deep breath - read the post first - then its nicer if you give helpful advice rather than attacking whats posted.

jace65

Thank you all for your replies.

To clarify some points: we were married in the uk in 2010
The house was purchased in May 2012 and is definitely in his name only.
There was no money from the sale of my house in the uk.
The money used to buy the house was saved by him (he didn't contribute to my mortgage) during the 8 years we were together (3 of which married) and a small inheritance of his.
I am now back in the uk.

With hind sight I have clearly not been very sensible, and I can of course divorce him from here for adultery. For me the issue is that I entered this marriage and came to Portugal with everything, and have left with 2 bags on a flight. If legally I can do nothing, then unfortunately I will have to live with that................but that doesn't seem altogether fair to me!

stuboy

You are making assumptions about the circumstances. Where did you get the idea that funds from the posters bank account had been transferred to pay for the property in Portugal?

Now you take a deep breath and don't be so sensitive.

Troia

I have to say that according to PT law if you were married WHEN the house was bought then you are a co-owner of the house. At least it is definitely so for a PT marriage., Thus registering your marriage here ASAP. If the house has a mortgage go to the bank, declare before-hand you are a co-owner and ask to see the deed (or you may ask it in the notário where the deed was done).

Along the way he may have asked you to sign something you were not aware of (a procuração) OR, worst, he may have bought the house declaring himself being single, which may get him in serious legal trouble, including the deed being cancelled. Just to give you an example I knew a case were a man sold his house (while still married) without authorization of his wife, the co-owner. After the divorce the ex-wife realized there as no house in the assets. She managed to revert back the house selling, giving a lot of grief to the family that bought the house (they lost most of the money).

So in my opinion, if you go to the UK, that is exactly what your cheating husband wants. As somebody here told, don´t leave the premises...hang on

Moreover, supposing the house has a mortgage and your name is in it, you will be liable (as him) if he fails the payments...

mikelincs

As she says in an earlier post, she is already back in the UK.

mfesharne

If she's in the UK, I'd have thought she'd be eligible for legal aid so she can get the proper advice from an appropriately qualified lawyer.

gedscottish

Citizens advice in the UK must be worth a visit and perhaps the Portuguese embassy?!

ah207

I also got married to a Portuguese national - back in the UK and we own a house here in Lisbon. We HAD to register our marriage here - which meant taking our UK marriage certificate to a solicitor first for translation, then taking our ID and papers to the registry office and thus making the marriage legal in Pt. Without registering the marriage, it would be very hard to make any claims regarding inheritance.

GeniB

From what I can gather from this post jace 65 (and I know i have come to it late)
You didn't actually contribute financially to the house you shared with your Portuguese husband (you say you made nothing on your UK property) You therefore must have agreed that the house deeds were in his name only..as he provided the funds to pay for it?...Therefore there was no actual property to share...If you had employment and put cash into a mortgage or joint bank account....or if you indeed had a joint bank account..you could have taken half that money..but i am guessing you didn't contribute financially? am i right?....
In any event you have replied from the UK and seem resigned to the fact that you did indeed act rather in good faith and 'love' than with a sensible business head..which you would expect between a man and his fairly new wife even when they are from different backgrounds and nationalities...Sorry but your a bit of a life lesson to others on here....Never give up everything and put yourself in the hands of another...even if the other is your husband..without taking legal advice and giving yourself a way back should things fail...It happens more often than people perhaps realise and virtually always with the woman being the loser...happened three times in my own family!! so I know the heartache and anger you must feel...women are not equal..very often not in law either....Best advice?....Forget it and him and move on dont waste your energy put it to better use for a new future....good luck