Gifted deposit

dk5294

Hi there

Was wondering if this would be ok, my husband is buying a house which he will be the sole occupant of. We are separating and if we divorce, he'll be entitled to half of what I had, including money. He may need an additional £3k for the deposit of the house he wants to buy, can I gift him this? It's on the understanding that this would be his 'settlement' if we divorced. I gave the money, which I inherited and I'm happy to do this and help him out and also it means if I put the rest in an isa and we divorce there's no recourse for him for that money.

Just not sure how lenders will view it. I am his spouse. So I'm allowed to gift him money, but with it being a sole occupancy agreement I'm unsure.

Sahmed660

Speak to a lawyer

dk5294

I have, who has advised me as long as something is drawn up to the effect of 'I give you x amount on this date and in the event of a divorce you are not entitled to anymore funds from myself' then it should be fine.

It's more how a lender will view it. I have called Leeds to ask for clarification on the matter, but thought I'd ask.

Keep_pedalling

While you are still married you are treated as acting together as far as buying property is concerned, so he needs to factor in an additional 3% stamp duty on his house purchase.

dk5294

Isn't that if you own more than one house? Neither of us own property. Also how does that affect a gifted deposit?

Keep_pedalling

dk5294 wrote: »

Isn't that if you own more than one house? Neither of us own property. Also how does that affect a gifted deposit?

Apologies, I rather assumed you already owned one jointly.

dk5294

Leeds have said "we consider deposits from spouses" and nothing else. How does it work if I am not going to live in the property with him? Does it not matter because we are still married so I can still gift the deposit? Anyone came across this? Feel like we should have just said I'd live there.

AnotherJoe

You are separating from what i recall?
So this money is from the pending divorce settlement is it not?
You've even been advised what wording to use.
So its not a gift.
If asked, source of money is pending divorce settlement.

dk5294

AnotherJoe wrote: »

You are separating from what i recall?
So this money is from the pending divorce settlement is it not?
You've even been advised what wording to use.
So its not a gift.
If asked, source of money is pending divorce settlement.

So just to clarify, I could state this in a letter to Leeds as well?

AnotherJoe

Of course (if asked - never volunteer)

dk5294

Perfect, thanks for that.