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Declaration of Trust - married abroad
mamacita63
Posts: 25 Forumite
Hi there, I would be grateful for any advice as my conveyancing solicitors are not very helpful! I married a Chilean national 5 years ago and the wedding was held in Chile. I bought my own flat 5 years before we met and I have an adult daughter. We are now buying a house jointly. He is a very good person and I'm sure if we divorced he would be fair, but I would prefer to have something in writing to protect my share of the deposit. However as we married in Chile (under the "separate property" option) I'm not sure whether it's worth paying £450 my solicitor quoted for a declaration of trust. And wouldn't it need to be also in Spanish? I have read that for married couples this document is only taken into account in divorces anyway so would a DIY statement signed by both of us and witnessed be just as good? I appreciate my situation is unusual but any advice would be welcome!
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Comments
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I'm not a lawyer, but I think that in the event of a divorce you would need to apply to a British court to settle the issue of the jointly-owned property - either because the divorce was filed in a British court, or because a Chilean divorce court has no jurisdiction over property owned here. So a Declaration of Trust would be valid, assuming it was done properly.
I'd suggest not doing it DIY, as you may end up with a worthless piece of paper.Let's settle this like gentlemen: armed with heavy sticks
On a rotating plate, with spikes like Flash Gordon
And you're Peter Duncan; I gave you fair warning0 -
The separate property issue would be relevent if you divorced in Chile, but not if you divorce in the UK, unless you can show that it *also* met the requirements (full financial disclosure, separate and independent legaladvice etc) for pre-nups here.
A letter signed by you both will not be 'just as good as' a proper declaration of trust.
The document does not need to be in Spanish as well but obviously it is important that you and your husband both understand anything you sign. If your husband does not speak English then it would be prudent to get the document translated before he signs it.All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)0 -
All parties to the agreement should seek independent legal advice. As there's an inherent danger that one party will plead ignorance should the matter go to court or some other defence.0
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Oh dear, sounds as though we will have to do it properly then! Thanks to you all for your help.0
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