Therapist told his ex she was only a ‘guest’ in battle over £500k home
A THERAPIST tried to trick his ex-fiancee out of her share of the family home by claiming she was merely a ‘guest’ at the £500,000 property.
Shane Turner had been in a relationship with Malika Bouchiba for 28 years and had a son with her. She was always the main breadwinner and covered most of the mortgage payments after they bought a house in 2009. But when they split up five years later, he told Miss Bouchiba she had just been a ‘guest’ with no financial rights and was ‘not entitled to any share’ of the house. They had only put his name on the deeds because of her poor credit record but he had promised not to ‘screw her’.
The argument escalated and went to court. Now a judge has awarded her half the value of the bungalow in Twickenham, southwest London, as it would be ‘unconscionable’ for Mr Turner to leave her empty-handed.
Judge Owen Rhys said that the couple, now in their 50s, had started their relationship in 1986. They had a son, now in his 20s, and lived ‘as a family’ before looking into buying the Twickenham house.
Miss Bouchiba, a parenting coach, said that during this time she was ‘always in paid employment…she had always taken on the burden of financial support of the family without help from Mr Turner’. The judge said her fiancé had ‘only worked for short periods’, splitting his time between living on benefits and doing part-time jobs. But by the time the couple began to look for a home to buy, Mr Turner had a job providing therapy services for local authorities.
Since Miss Bouchiba had a poor credit record, they were advised it would be easier to obtain a mortgage if the house was put in Mr Turner’s sole name. The judge said: ‘When Miss Bouchiba expressed con- cern, Mr Turner stated that she need not worry, he would not “screw her” and that she would be one of the legal owners of the property in due course.’
They reached an agreement that Mr Turner would put up the £ 40,000 deposit for the property while Miss Bouchiba paid the mortgage and bills.
But after they separated, Mr Turner denied that any such arrangement existed.
Judge Rhys said: ‘He claims Miss Bouchiba lived with him as “my guest” and that he paid for the majority of the expenses and living costs and that any payments made by her were reimbursed in cash.
‘He continues to live in the house and denies Miss Bouchiba is entitled to any share.’ Sitting in the First Tier Tribunal dealing with property cases, the judge said Mr Turner ‘denied the significance’ of the relationship, despite giving her an engagement ring, and said they were not living together.
But this was ‘unconvincing, contradicted by the facts and obviously self- serving’. Mr Turner also accused his ex- fiancee of being ‘bullying and domineering’ and ‘a reckless spendaholic’. But the judge ruled his claims were ‘simply incredible’.
The house now cannot be sold without Miss Bouchiba receiving half the equity. Her legal costs will be paid by Mr Turner. The ruling was made in May but has only just been published.
‘Unconvincing and self-serving’