CESIÓN GRATUITA DE VIVIENDA Y CRISIS MATRIMONIALES A LA LUZ DE LA JURISPRUDENCIA.

Abstract

Traditionally, people of mature age are quite given to allowing a child or grandchild and his or her partner to use some house or flat of theirs for free. This is their way of helping the young people set up a home of their own. How the parties set up the assignment arrangement legally is a point of capital importance. Vital legal effects depend on it. Circumstances may render the owners' position unexpectedly weak. When the parties have neglected to put anything into actual words concerning the nature or consequences of the gratuitous assignment, the main problem is likely to occur if the young couple breaks up and files for separation or divorce. This study looks at the evolution of case law on the subject, from disturbing rulings that play havoc with the owners' legal position to the current trend, where the owners' interests are uniformly and definitively respected.