diff --git a/app/src/app/admin/articles/article/article.ts b/app/src/app/admin/articles/article/article.ts
index dee8a9d1..0bbfaa80 100644
--- a/app/src/app/admin/articles/article/article.ts
+++ b/app/src/app/admin/articles/article/article.ts
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ namespace app.admin.articles.article {
          */
         public save(){
 
-            return this.articleService.saveArticleWithRelated(this.article, this.$stateParams.newArticle)
+            return this.articleService.saveArticleWithRelated(this.article)
                 .then(() => {
                     this.notificationService.toast('Article saved').pop();
                 });
diff --git a/app/src/common/models/abstractModel.spec.ts b/app/src/common/models/abstractModel.spec.ts
index 7bbdd8c3..2aa6f682 100644
--- a/app/src/common/models/abstractModel.spec.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/models/abstractModel.spec.ts
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ namespace common.models {
         public _hasOne:TestChildModel;
         public _hasMany:TestChildModel[];
 
-        constructor(data:any) {
-            super(data);
-            this.hydrate(data);
+        constructor(data:any, exists:boolean = false) {
+            super(data, exists);
+            this.hydrate(data, exists);
         }
 
     }
diff --git a/app/src/common/models/abstractModel.ts b/app/src/common/models/abstractModel.ts
index 289d710a..88c493ac 100644
--- a/app/src/common/models/abstractModel.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/models/abstractModel.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ namespace common.models {
     }
 
     export interface IModelFactory{
-        (data:any):IModel;
+        (data:any, exists?:boolean):IModel;
     }
 
     export class AbstractModel implements IModel {
@@ -14,26 +14,27 @@ namespace common.models {
         protected _nestedEntityMap;
         private _exists:boolean;
 
-        constructor(data?:any) {
-            this.hydrate(data);
+        constructor(data?:any, exists:boolean = false) {
+            this.hydrate(data, exists);
 
             Object.defineProperty(this, "_exists", {
                 enumerable: false,
                 writable: true,
-                value: false,
+                value: exists,
             });
         }
 
         /**
          * Assign the properties of the model from the init data
          * @param data
+         * @param exists
          */
-        protected hydrate(data?:any) {
+        protected hydrate(data:any, exists:boolean) {
             if (_.isObject(data)) {
                 _.assign(this, data);
 
                 if (_.size(this._nestedEntityMap) > 1) {
-                    this.hydrateNested(data);
+                    this.hydrateNested(data, exists);
                 }
             }
 
@@ -42,8 +43,9 @@ namespace common.models {
         /**
          * Find all the nested entities and hydrate them into model instances
          * @param data
+         * @param exists
          */
-        protected hydrateNested(data:any){
+        protected hydrateNested(data:any, exists:boolean){
 
             _.forIn(this._nestedEntityMap, (model:typeof AbstractModel, nestedKey:string) => {
 
@@ -51,9 +53,9 @@ namespace common.models {
                 if (_.has(data, key) && !_.isNull(data[key])){
 
                     if (_.isArray(data[key])){
-                        this[key] = _.map(data[key], (entityData) => this.hydrateModel(entityData, model));
+                        this[key] = _.map(data[key], (entityData) => this.hydrateModel(entityData, model, exists));
                     }else if (_.isObject(data[key])){
-                        this[key] = this.hydrateModel(data[key], model);
+                        this[key] = this.hydrateModel(data[key], model, exists);
                     }
 
                 }else{
@@ -68,12 +70,15 @@ namespace common.models {
          * Get a new instance of a model from data
          * @param data
          * @param Model
-         * @returns {undefined}
+         * @returns {common.models.AbstractModel}
+         * @param exists
          */
-        private hydrateModel(data:any, Model:typeof AbstractModel){
+        private hydrateModel(data:any, Model:typeof AbstractModel, exists:boolean){
 
-            return new Model(data);
+            let model = new Model(data);
+            model.setExists(exists);
 
+            return model;
         }
 
         /**
diff --git a/app/src/common/models/article/articleModel.ts b/app/src/common/models/article/articleModel.ts
index b7db5efc..ef132ece 100644
--- a/app/src/common/models/article/articleModel.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/models/article/articleModel.ts
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@ namespace common.models {
 
         public _tags:common.models.Tag[];
 
-        constructor(data:any) {
-            super(data);
-            this.hydrate(data);
+        constructor(data:any, exists:boolean = false) {
+            super(data, exists);
+            this.hydrate(data, exists);
         }
 
         /**
diff --git a/app/src/common/models/tag/tagModel.ts b/app/src/common/models/tag/tagModel.ts
index cd89a370..b9c0325b 100644
--- a/app/src/common/models/tag/tagModel.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/models/tag/tagModel.ts
@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@ namespace common.models {
         public tagId:string = undefined;
         public tag:string = undefined;
 
-        constructor(data:any) {
-            super(data);
-            this.hydrate(data);
+        constructor(data:any, exists:boolean = false) {
+            super(data, exists);
+            this.hydrate(data, exists);
         }
 
     }
diff --git a/app/src/common/models/user/userModel.ts b/app/src/common/models/user/userModel.ts
index 00670e93..09d605d3 100644
--- a/app/src/common/models/user/userModel.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/models/user/userModel.ts
@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ namespace common.models {
         public _socialLogins:common.models.UserSocialLogin[] = undefined;
         public userType:string = undefined;
 
-        constructor(data:any) {
-            super(data);
-            this.hydrate(data);
+        constructor(data:any, exists:boolean = false) {
+            super(data, exists);
+            this.hydrate(data, exists);
         }
 
         /**
diff --git a/app/src/common/models/user/userProfileModel.ts b/app/src/common/models/user/userProfileModel.ts
index 30a5bca6..adb6a520 100644
--- a/app/src/common/models/user/userProfileModel.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/models/user/userProfileModel.ts
@@ -23,9 +23,9 @@ module common.models {
             {label: 'Prefer not to say', value: 'N/A'}
         ];
 
-        constructor(data:any) {
-            super(data);
-            this.hydrate(data);
+        constructor(data:any, exists:boolean = false) {
+            super(data, exists);
+            this.hydrate(data, exists);
         }
 
     }
diff --git a/app/src/common/models/user/userSocialLoginModel.ts b/app/src/common/models/user/userSocialLoginModel.ts
index b81105cb..6df4a772 100644
--- a/app/src/common/models/user/userSocialLoginModel.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/models/user/userSocialLoginModel.ts
@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@ module common.models {
         public provider:string = undefined;
         public token:string = undefined;
 
-        constructor(data:any) {
-            super(data);
-            this.hydrate(data);
+        constructor(data:any, exists:boolean = false) {
+            super(data, exists);
+            this.hydrate(data, exists);
         }
 
     }
diff --git a/app/src/common/services/article/articleService.spec.ts b/app/src/common/services/article/articleService.spec.ts
index 17e3f167..b6a10301 100644
--- a/app/src/common/services/article/articleService.spec.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/services/article/articleService.spec.ts
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@
                 $httpBackend.expectPUT('/api/articles/'+article.articleId, article.getAttributes()).respond(201);
                 $httpBackend.expectPUT('/api/articles/'+article.articleId+'/tags', _.clone(article._tags, true)).respond(201);
 
-                let savePromise = articleService.saveArticleWithRelated(article, true);
+                let savePromise = articleService.saveArticleWithRelated(article);
 
                 expect(savePromise).eventually.to.be.fulfilled;
                 expect(savePromise).eventually.to.deep.equal(article);
diff --git a/app/src/common/services/article/articleService.ts b/app/src/common/services/article/articleService.ts
index 6285d6cd..c83c3b43 100644
--- a/app/src/common/services/article/articleService.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/services/article/articleService.ts
@@ -15,9 +15,10 @@ namespace common.services.article {
          * Get an instance of the Article given data
          * @param data
          * @returns {common.models.Article}
+         * @param exists
          */
-        public static articleFactory(data:any):common.models.Article {
-            return new common.models.Article(data);
+        public static articleFactory(data:any, exists:boolean = false):common.models.Article {
+            return new common.models.Article(data, exists);
         }
 
         /**
@@ -65,16 +66,15 @@ namespace common.services.article {
         /**
          * Save the article with all the nested entities too
          * @param article
-         * @param newArticle
          * @returns {IPromise<common.models.Article>}
          */
-        public saveArticleWithRelated(article:common.models.Article, newArticle:boolean = false):ng.IPromise<common.models.Article>{
+        public saveArticleWithRelated(article:common.models.Article):ng.IPromise<common.models.Article>{
 
-
-            return this.saveArticle(article, newArticle)
-                .then(() => this.saveRelatedEntities(article, newArticle))
+            return this.saveArticle(article)
+                .then(() => this.saveRelatedEntities(article))
                 .then(() => {
                     (<common.decorators.IChangeAwareDecorator>article).resetChangedProperties(); //reset so next save only saves the changed ones
+                    article.setExists(true);
                     return article;
                 })
             ;
@@ -84,16 +84,15 @@ namespace common.services.article {
         /**
          * Save the article
          * @param article
-         * @param newArticle
          * @returns ng.IPromise<common.models.Article>
          */
-        public saveArticle(article:common.models.Article, newArticle:boolean = false):ng.IPromise<common.models.Article|boolean>{
+        public saveArticle(article:common.models.Article):ng.IPromise<common.models.Article|boolean>{
 
-            let method = newArticle ? 'put' : 'patch';
+            let method = article.exists() ? 'patch' : 'put';
 
             let saveData = article.getAttributes();
 
-            if (!newArticle) {
+            if (article.exists()) {
                 saveData = (<common.decorators.IChangeAwareDecorator>article).getChanged();
             }
 
@@ -111,10 +110,10 @@ namespace common.services.article {
          * @param article
          * @returns {IPromise<any[]>}
          */
-        private saveRelatedEntities(article:common.models.Article, newArticle:boolean = false):ng.IPromise<any> {
+        private saveRelatedEntities(article:common.models.Article):ng.IPromise<any> {
 
             return this.$q.all([ //save all related entities
-                this.saveArticleTags(article, newArticle),
+                this.saveArticleTags(article),
             ]);
 
         }
@@ -124,11 +123,11 @@ namespace common.services.article {
          * @param article
          * @returns {any}
          */
-        private saveArticleTags(article:common.models.Article, newArticle:boolean = false):ng.IPromise<common.models.Tag[]|boolean>{
+        private saveArticleTags(article:common.models.Article):ng.IPromise<common.models.Tag[]|boolean>{
 
             let tagData = _.clone(article._tags);
 
-            if (!newArticle){
+            if (article.exists()){
 
                 let changes:any = (<common.decorators.IChangeAwareDecorator>article).getChanged(true);
                 if (!_.has(changes, '_tags')){
@@ -138,7 +137,6 @@ namespace common.services.article {
 
             return this.ngRestAdapter.put('/articles/'+article.articleId+'/tags', tagData)
                 .then(() => {
-                    console.log('tags saved');
                     return article._tags;
                 });
 
diff --git a/app/src/common/services/auth/authService.ts b/app/src/common/services/auth/authService.ts
index 33489b56..1032c129 100644
--- a/app/src/common/services/auth/authService.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/services/auth/authService.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ namespace common.services.auth {
 
             return this.ngJwtAuthService
                 .registerUserFactory((subClaim: string, tokenData: global.JwtAuthClaims): ng.IPromise<common.models.User> => {
-                    return this.$q.when(new common.models.User(tokenData._user));
+                    return this.$q.when(new common.models.User(tokenData._user, true));
                 })
                 .registerLoginPromptFactory((deferredCredentials:ng.IDeferred<NgJwtAuth.ICredentials>, loginSuccessPromise:ng.IPromise<NgJwtAuth.IUser>, currentUser:NgJwtAuth.IUser): ng.IPromise<any> => {
 
diff --git a/app/src/common/services/pagination/paginationService.ts b/app/src/common/services/pagination/paginationService.ts
index 3cad6e6c..b0fb7ca9 100644
--- a/app/src/common/services/pagination/paginationService.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/services/pagination/paginationService.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ namespace common.services.pagination {
                     private $q:ng.IQService,
                     private $window:ng.IWindowService) {
 
-            this.modelFactory = (data:any) => data; //set a default factory that just returns the data
+            this.modelFactory = (data:any, exists:boolean) => data; //set a default factory that just returns the data
 
         }
 
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ namespace common.services.pagination {
                     Range: Paginator.getRangeHeader(index, last)
                 }).then((response:ng.IHttpPromiseCallbackArg<any>) => {
                     this.processContentRangeHeader(response.headers);
-                    return _.map(response.data, (modelData) => this.modelFactory(modelData));
+                    return _.map(response.data, (modelData) => this.modelFactory(modelData, true));
                 }).catch((response:ng.IHttpPromiseCallbackArg<any>) => {
                     if(response.status == 404){ //no content
                         this.entityCountTotal = 0;
diff --git a/app/src/common/services/tag/tagService.ts b/app/src/common/services/tag/tagService.ts
index a70b39f6..04ac10da 100644
--- a/app/src/common/services/tag/tagService.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/services/tag/tagService.ts
@@ -16,9 +16,10 @@ namespace common.services.tag {
          * Get an instance of the Tag given data
          * @param data
          * @returns {common.models.Tag}
+         * @param exists
          */
-        public static tagFactory(data:any):common.models.Tag {
-            return new common.models.Tag(data);
+        public static tagFactory(data:any, exists:boolean = false):common.models.Tag {
+            return new common.models.Tag(data, exists);
         }
 
         /**
diff --git a/app/src/common/services/user/userService.spec.ts b/app/src/common/services/user/userService.spec.ts
index 7dd0d6cf..8a2652b3 100644
--- a/app/src/common/services/user/userService.spec.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/services/user/userService.spec.ts
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@
 
             it('should be able to send a patch request to update the user details (including profile)', () => {
 
-                let user = _.clone(fixtures.user);
+                let user = fixtures.user;
 
                 let profile = _.clone(userProfile);
 
diff --git a/app/src/common/services/user/userService.ts b/app/src/common/services/user/userService.ts
index 4b3ff572..d8f91811 100644
--- a/app/src/common/services/user/userService.ts
+++ b/app/src/common/services/user/userService.ts
@@ -20,10 +20,11 @@ namespace common.services.user {
         /**
          * Get an instance of a user from data
          * @param userData
-         * @returns {common.services.user.User}
+         * @returns {common.models.User}
+         * @param exists
          */
-        public static userFactory(userData:global.IUserData):common.models.User {
-            return new common.models.User(userData);
+        public static userFactory(userData:global.IUserData, exists:boolean = false):common.models.User {
+            return new common.models.User(userData, exists);
         }
 
         /**
@@ -66,7 +67,10 @@ namespace common.services.user {
             let user = new common.models.User(userData);
 
             return this.ngRestAdapter.put('/users/' + user.userId, user)
-                .then(() => user); //return this user object
+                .then(() => {
+                    user.setExists(true);
+                    return user;
+                }); //return this user object
         }
 
         /**
@@ -148,20 +152,20 @@ namespace common.services.user {
          */
         public updateUser(user:common.models.User):ng.IPromise<any> {
             return this.ngRestAdapter
-                .patch('/users/' + user.userId, user);
+                .patch('/users/' + user.userId, user.getAttributes(true));
         }
 
         /**
          * Get full user information
          * @param user
-         * @returns {ng.IHttpPromise<any>}
+         * @returns {ng.IPromise<common.models.User>}
          */
         public getUser(user:common.models.User):ng.IPromise<common.models.User> {
             return this.ngRestAdapter.get('/users/' + user.userId, {
                     'With-Nested' : 'userCredential, userProfile, socialLogins'
                 })
                 .then((res) => {
-                    return new common.models.User(res.data);
+                    return new common.models.User(res.data, true);
                 });
         }