Romantic Comedy or Horror Movie?

Hi Scott,My partner comes from a wealthy family. We are engaged, are having a baby, and have joint finances. Four years ago he was briefly engaged to someone else and he bought a house with a $50,000 inheritance from his grandfather. At the time, he and his parents agreed to a caveat to protect his asset from her. Wise move, and it worked. Fast forward to now, and I have been jointly paying for this same mortgage for a long time, on my wage of $110,000 a year. We want the caveat removed; they don’t. Advice?

Tess

Hi Tess,This sounds like the plot of a made-for-TV romcom. You meet the man of your dreams, but his meddling parents don’t approve of you!While I’m only getting your side of things, here’s what I’m reading:One: it was originally your fiancé’s inheritance, so it’s his money, not his parents’ money.Two: you’re now helping pay off the mortgage, so your name should be jointly on the title, if it’s not already. What’s more, if you can get the caveat lifted, you may find that you can get a cheaper deal on your mortgage.Three: the difference between you and his last squeeze is that you’re pregnant with his child -- their grandchild.In other words? Dude’s on the hook for 18 years, as Kanye would say.Besides, in the grand scheme of things, $50,000 isn’t a huge amount of money -- it’s more about the principle of your in-laws treating you like a fly-by-night floozy who’ll one day shake down their son.My advice? Just like in all good romcoms, your fiancé needs to stop being a mummy’s boy, stand up to his parents, and defend your honour!Thank-you for reading,

Scott