Mortgage just paid off but I am not on the deeds

kdee_2

Hi,
Just a bit of advice please. We've just paid our mortgage off and the BS are sending us the deeds. We've been married 18 years but I've never been on the deeds. We live in England. Firstly, does it really make a difference if I don't put my name on? In terms of one of us passing away at some point? If I do elect to add my name, is it just a solicitor I need to do this? Is it expensive?
Also, where do people store deeds? I don't have a solicitor as such.
Any advice would be great

RAS

it is an asset of the marriage, so if you divorce, it would not make a lot of difference.

However, if your name is not on the deeds, nothing stops your spouse from taking out loans against it without your knowledge.

Also if s/he dies, the house becomes part of the estate and counts towards the IHT limit. If it is owned as a joint tenancy, it automatically becomes the property of the sole tenant after the first death and is not included in the estate.

If it is valued more than £250K, there wouls also be implications if your spouse died without a will as the rule sof intestacy would means that some of the additional value would be inherited by other members of the family.

SmlSave

It's simple to put your name on the deeds, just call the land registry and they will talk you through it. Just an AP1 and TR1 form to fill out I would think.

You can store your deeds at home. The land registry should have all the important ones on their system but don't get rid of any you have just in case.

Get your name on those deeds to protect your investment. I'm sure nothing will happen but think worse case scenarios, divorce, debt and different wills

Yorkie1

As others have said, you presently have no rights in the house unless a divorce happens, in which case it will be considered as an asset in the overall scheme of things.

If your OH dies then the house will be distributed according to the will, assuming that there is enough left in the estate to pay all other debts / loans in his name etc.

It is far safer for you to own it jointly with him, so that your interests are automatically protected in the event that he dies first.

Land_Registry

kdee - you have not mentioned whether the property is actually registered or not and i suspect it is not as you refer to receiving the deeds from the BS

Others are better placed to advise on whether you should have your name added and/or what happens should one of you passes away etc

If the property is registered then as SmlSave mentions you can do this yourself by following our online guidance. Essentially your partner transfers the property to themselves and you.

If the property is unregistered then you can still use form TR1 but you would also need to then register the property for the first time and we have online guidance for that as well.

As far as the deeds themselves are concerned they are especially important if the property is unregistered as they are the proof of ownership and should be kept somewhere safe. If you don't transfer the ownership from sole to joint names then they need to be kept safe.

Their relevance as far as ownership is concerned disappears once the property is registered but they should still be kept. How safe you keep them is up to you and our online guidance explains this a bit more.

Finally, I would recommend seeking legal and/or financial advice for both you and your spouse. Registering the ownership is one important aspect but understanding the various options around sole and joint ownership as well as what may or may not happen in the future and how it may impact on you are equally as important.