Opinions please

lazarou_true

I currently live with my partner and young son. His parents are splitting up. His dad has said that he would accept ten grand to sign the house over to his mum. She has since found out that he has registered debts against the house (at present eight grand).
We were thinking of selling our house, paying everything off his mum's house and moving in with her. Thus all being morgage free and having three working adults in house to be able to renovate / extend his mum's property / enjoy life a little.
I tend to be an optimist, I just wondered whether any of you good, knowledgable people could offer any advice / potential pitfalls that we may not yet have considered.

newlywed

What if his mum ever decided to sell up? Or found someone else and moved them in and wanted you out? Where would that leave you? If you aren't on the mortgage or deeds I don't know what rights you would have?

lazarou_true

They were planning to sell it anyway but his mum wants to keep it as she says that it's my partner's inheritance. She would struggle to keep it on her own. Don't want her to run herself into the ground - would rather have her healthy than a house.
It's got enough land to extend so that she could have an en-suite (us too) which would in effect give her a self-contained bed-sit but with communal areas such as kitchen / living room etc. We would make sure that we all had our privacy.
She's also said that if it really didn't work we could go back to plan a, as her name would have been on council / sheltered housing list for longer which should help her get in a better area. As it is at the moment, she is unlikely to get anywhere nice / local.

Dithering_Dad

I think the negotiations on who takes what assets should be conducted via a solicitor so that it's a binding legal agreement (with no comeback if at a future point one party feels they were hard done too and decides to ask for extra) and also so that it's fair.

It will also make sure that Mum isn't liable for any other "secret" debts that may come out of the woodwork and to ensure that she doesn't end up forking out for any of the secured debts that are not in her name.

It seems scary though that if you have a joint asset such as a house, that one partner can get debts secured on the joint asset without the consent of the other party!! I'd also ask the solicitor about this because maybe she won't be liable for any of the debt and Dad will have to pay up out of his half of the assets after the settlement?

As far as sharing a house is concerned, the Chinese symbol for discontent is a pictogram of a house with two women in it.. Lol, enough said!

lazarou_true

Cheers for that!

My auntie is / was a solicitor so was going to ask her advice. Yes, we had already decided that it needed to be a legally binding contract. She's leaving him / kicking him out because he's been so shady with money and she's very honest and hard-working and is sick to death of bailing him out. He's never going to have enough assets to pay off all of his debts. But are we right in thinking that if anything put on the house is paid off and then the house is signed over that she shouldn't be liable for anything else?

Dithering_Dad

I wouldn't have thought so, but then you never know if he's that shady maybe he's added her onto some of the loans without her knowledge.

It might be that case that she's not liable for the secured debts if she didn't know anything about them, and so maybe her husband will have to clear these out of his part of the house.

The trouble is that you just don't really know where you stand legally unless you seek professional advice and for something as major as a house, it's worth spending a few hundred on a solicitor, if it's going to save you thousands and a lot of hassles and worries.

lazarou_true

Thank you, will definately get some legal advice. I have a free legal helpline through home insurance, also as I'm a member of unison and another one through my bank account. Are these any good for matters such as this? Or even CAB? His Mum will obviously still have to see someone to have formal contract drawn up / witnessed. I was just thinking for initial advice.

Dithering_Dad

CAB is always a good first port of call. I'm not sure about your insurance/unison legal advise would cover this as it would be for a third party, but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask them.

Good luck

lazarou_true

Thanks for all your help!! I really must switch this thing off and get back to the real world. I'm starting to get cramp and I've got loads I really should be getting on with.:beer: Cheers for being interested, it's always good to hear someone elses ideas.:A

DenBo_4

What happens if she decides she loves him after all and wants him back, and your living in the house?:rolleyes:

lazarou_true

This decision isn't something she's come to lightly. It's coming after at least 10 years of unhappiness but the last 2 have been almost unbearable. She definately won't be having him back. Thanks for your thoughts though.