Man Wins Right to Claim Half Share of a House 17 Years After Moving Out

A man has won the right to claim a half share of a house that he left 17 years ago, despite the fact that he had made no mortgage payments during that period and had also paid no child support for the son he had with his ex partner.

Leonard Kernott had co-owned a house with Patricia Jones up until 1993 when he moved out, leaving her and their two children behind. Miss Jones had continued to make mortgage payments by herself after initially agreeing that both had an equal ownership of the property when Mr Kernott left.

Once their son had turned 18, Mr Kernott launched a legal challenge to claim half of the house, a challenge that was initially refused by Judge Peter Dedman at Southend County Court in 2008 who ruled that Miss Jones was entitled to 90% of the house. This ruling was upheld on initial appeal before Mr Kernott took the case to the Court of Appeals, where he won by a 2 to 1 vote.

Miss Jones is now considering whether or not to take the case to the Supreme Court as she has already paid over £15,000 in legal costs.