The decision in Jones v Kernott has turned a complex area of law into a minefield, says Jonathan West
The Supreme Court handed down its long awaited judgment last week in the case of Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53, [2011] All ER (D) 64 (Nov). The issue at stake was the ownership of a jointly held property which had been shared for some years by Leonard Kernott and Patricia Jones. Their relationship broke down after eight years of unmarried cohabitation in 1993.
Stack v Dowden
This case has given the Supreme Court the chance to reconsider the decision in Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17, [2007] 2 All ER 929. In Stack, the home purchased was conveyed into joint names, with Ms Dowden contributing significantly more. One of the key features in that case was the way in which the parties had maintained separate bank accounts and investments. In that case the House of Lords (as it was then) awarded Ms Dowden a 65% interest.
In Jones the parties bought a home in joint names in 1985 for
