Kammekor wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 9:14 am A Khmer girl and a foreign Western man have been together for a few years. During that time the girl bought land, put to plots together (one pre-relation owned), and built a house on the land. He funded it all, except for the initial first plot. Then they broke up. Girl and guy have never been legally married, no contracts have been made during the buying / building process. All he has is bank statements stating he withdrew money, and some receipts for building materials.
Initially the name of the man was on the (soft) land title. As a courtesy the village chief was willing to do so after some financial compensation. Then the hard titles were introduced and the fun was over, all there's on the hard title is her name. She's the sole legal owner of the land as per the hard title.

Foreigner is pissed off after their brake up. He wants 50% of his money back and considers going to court.

What do you think his odds are the court will rule in his favor?

Anyone has experience with this kind of stuff personally?

orichá wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 9:34 am Good luck. I heard a very similar tale from a Khmer colleague in Sihanoukville a few years ago. He worked as a part-time translator in the provincial court.

... Long story short: an elderly Nordic gent had bought a home and truck in his wife's name. Not sure if they were formally married or not. Anyway, after a break up, the woman immediately began trying to sell the property in her name.

Acting very fast, the man hired a lawyer who sought a court injunction on the sale of the property, and then he sued her more or less to stop or share in the sale. When the judge reviewed the injunction in court, he said there wasn't much he could do since all the property was registered legally in the lady's name despite his proofs of original purchase, etc.
However, the lawyer or the judge suggested a compromise solution. He asked the lady to share 50% of the money she got with her elderly ex. She agreed.

Note: the only way your friend can hope to get monies from any sale is by acting fast to hire a good lawyer to place a temporary injunction on the girlfriend's action to sell the property. Then, appeal in court for some shared settlement.

If he fails to act immediately, of course, she can sell out and keep all proceeds. After any sale, your friend will not have much recourse available to him through the legal system. I suppose he could try to sue for part or all of his monies, but there is no obligation or precedent at all for him to win a penny after any sale has been completed, even if he has proofs that he spent his own money to buy the property.

But in court, anything is possible. Maybe it depends on which one of the former couple would be willing to pay the judge more or less courtesy $.

Good luck.

Kammekor wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 12:32 pm
I will provide no details about this case. I'm just the messenger and I posted because I am curious myself.
Personally I believe he's got no legal right to anything. But I am no expert on Khmer law and have zero experience with lawyers and courts.

He doesn't speak enough Khmer to fight this himself in court, so yes, using a (trustworthy) translator or lawyer fluent in English is needed.
About likability... She broke up with him after he had a few affairs and chose to continue those instead of staying with her. She can bring that up when it actually goes to court, I would for sure. However, he is convinced he can buy himself the right decision in court. I am not so convinced. I'm afraid he will be lured into court bureaucracy and spend, and spend, and spend....
Personally I doubt even if he wins he will get 50k back. She can not cough up 50k so the house has to be sold in that case. I can tell from my own personal experience selling a (nice) house outside of the main areas can be challenging to put it mildly. And if it's sold there's no guarantee they will get the amount they're aiming for. And then there's the risk she will sell it to someone familiar at a below market price and buy it back later. So many trouble down that road.
On the other hand.... He spent serious money. It would be a rather large notch on his guitar if he just sucked it up.

Anyway, curious if anyone has first hand information on a similar matter.

Spigzy wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 11:28 am I think as @PSD-Kiwi said, without marriage there is no protection at all; best bet to take the break up on the chin & appeal to her generosity if at all possible.

As a glimmer of hope to others in a similar situation, I divorced last year and walked away with child custody & all assets I cared about- the individual circumstances dictate what view a judge will take, so it won't necessarily be 50/50, and you also won't get absolutely stuffed just because you're a foreigner. On the down side you need to dress up like a clown for a day when you get married, but on reflection worth doing!

I also sank about $40k into the mother in law's house way back when, before marriage, and I didn't even raise it in the divorce. My thoughts were as simple that at some point in time that investment will come back in some way to our son, so let bygones be bygones. If your friend has any kids with her that will inherit that investment, the bitter pill might be easier to swallow.