Q: I live in Michigan and my girlfriend has been living with me and we have decided to break up.
A couple of months ago she bought new appliances for the kitchen. Does she have any legal right to those appliances? There is no lease agreement and she doesn't pay rent.
A:
Generally speaking, appliances are personal property, and as such, they belong to the person who bought them. An exception to this rule might be if the appliance was permanently affixed or installed. For example, was the appliance physically fastened to the studs, floor, etc., and perhaps hard-wired by an electrician into the wiring of the kitchen? If so, then there may be an argument that the appliance has been incorporated into the real estate and is thus a fixture, part of the real estate. If so, then maybe the appliance doesn't belong to your ex-girlfriend anymore, but she might have a claim against you to pay her for the appliance's value.
Jesus said, "Well, then, pay to the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God.". My advice is to let your girlfriend take what she paid for, and don't try to try to keep what isn't yours by looking to legal technicalities. You don't want to compound this breakup with creating legal problems for yourself too. Turn the other cheek. Let her take the stuff.
Brent T. Geers and Kenneth V Zichi agree with this answer
A: Often times when people break up, whether they are married or not, one or both do things to keep ties, even when saying otherwise that they want nothing to do with each other? The central question is how much is all this worth to you to be done with the relationship?
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