Changing name of house owner

watcha

Hiya

I don’t know if anyone here can help me or if you can give me any advice.

My mother died a few months ago and I have been living in the house I shared with her since then. When I informed the mortgage company of her death, they put the house in my fathers name, since it was a joint mortgage.

My father wants to get the house changed over to my name. I have just paid off the mortgage, so anything that needs doing, it between just me and my father. What do we have to do?

Thanks for advice given

clutton_2

i think you may need legal advice here - you are, i am sure, doing this with the very best of intentions, but there are legal pitfalls here aplenty. It depends on your fathers age, and why he wants it give it to you. if he is about to go into a home it will be seen as deliberately disposing of assets by the local authority, and they could force you to sell it anyway. If it is solely in your name your father then has no legal security of residence. You could put it in joint names - but again there are two different legal ways of doing that, and the outcomes of getting that wrong are difficult. There are also taxation and "gifting" issues and capital gains issues - i really suggest you and dad go to a solicitor. many give you half an hour free.

Bossyboots

The mortgage company will not have "put the house in father's name". They had no authority to do so. They may have put the mortgage into his sole name, but not the house.

It is a simple matter to transfer the property to your name. However, as clutton points out there are many things you need to be careful of. Simply signing it over to you and then still living there makes it a gift with reservation and thus still regarded as your father's for tax purposes and if he needed residential care.

You could of course execute a transfer on the basis of the sale to you of a share of the property equal to the mortgage you have cleared. You would then be joint owners but again, you need to get this right.

I echo clutton's advice that you should see a solicitor about this to discuss all the options.

DampProof

Agree with the above comments. You need to be absolutely sure of the implications and suggest you take advice.
However if you are clear, it is a matter of filling in a 'Land Registry' form TR1 which needs to be signed by both parties to the transfer and witnessed.
Not sure if Stamp Duty is payable, you will need to check with HM Revenue.