Stamp duty

lovinituk

Jayh wrote: »

ok , thank you. I am more leaning towards point one :

1) Current beneficial interest in old property is 0% which is less than 40k (depends on how your 'share' in a property is defined) -> Higher SDLT not payable

Wouldn't that be defined by whether the property was held as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common? If the latter, then the percentage split would have to be sufficient to put you below £40k. I doubt you did anything other than 50/50 originally.

*edit - sorry didn't see post above mine!*

00ec25

Jayh wrote: »

If I meet the criteria in point 2 would that also mean not paying the extra stamp duty as well?

point 2 is time limited because it relies upon you still being able to claim the property was your main residence and is therefore the one being replaced when you buy the new property with the new partner.

there are 2 factors in play which decide when a property is no longer the main home in the case of a married couple:
1. the date at which the separation from the ex became "permanent"
or
2. The date of the court order confirming your divorce

you will need to check with your solicitor before assuming you can still claim the old place as your main residence and therefore still eligible to be "replaced" for SDLT purposes. The law applied is that which originates from Capital gains tax rules regarding principal private residence, see:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/husband-and-wife-civil-partners-divorce-dissolution-and-separation-hs281-self-assessment-helpsheet/hs281-spouses-civil-partners-divorce-dissolution-and-separation-2016

" the former matrimonial or civil partnership home can be treated as the only or main residence of the transferring spouse or civil partner from the date his or her occupation ceased until the earlier of the:

• date of transfer
• date on which the spouse or civil partner to whom the property is transferred ceases to use it as his or her only or main residence

However, relief for the same period can’t be given for another property (except for the final 18 months of ownership of the matrimonial or civil partnership home) so this concession may not be the best choice in every case."

phillw

Jayh wrote: »

That was my thinking as well. Who decides how much of the property is mine percentage wise? We could say it is 1% ?

If you left the divorce with a 10% stake in the property then your solicitor would switch the land registry to tenants in common with a 90:10 split. This is probably as much effort as getting your name off the deads.

The financial settlement should be legally binding, so even though the land register hasn't been updated because of third parties then I'm not sure that you would legally be able to benefit from the property in the future. Which should be enough for HMRC, as long as they think you've done enough to move it along.

Some solicitors are slow, some are slowed down by circumstances beyond their control. If the solicitor says they are waiting to hear back from someone, then find out who and find out why there is a delay yourself (it's much cheaper than instructing the solicitor to do it for you).

Jayh

Thanks for the reply. We had nothing in writing in ref to house split, we just agreed between us that house would be ex wife only and then we did the divorce which went through in Jan, does that matter?

00ec25

Jayh wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. We had nothing in writing in ref to house split, we just agreed between us that house would be ex wife only and then we did the divorce which went through in Jan, does that matter?

yes it does, it means you still own it 50/50

there are 2 steps to a divorce:
a) the "decree" breaking the marriage
and
b) the financial "settlement" which sets out in writing who gets what in what % as part of the court divorce process.

It is very possible to do a) and not do b), thus leaving financial ties despite being divorced.

Jayh

Thanks for the advice. How would I go about arranging point two? Do I need to submit more forms to the court?

00ec25

Jayh wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. How would I go about arranging point two? Do I need to submit more forms to the court?

given that you appear to have had children with your ex I am amazed that no financial settlement was agreed at the time of your divorce?

you do not need to go to court to make a settlement, you "just" need to document it. However, with children involved any such agreement is not binding unless there is a "consent order" granted by the court.

do some reading?
http://www.lawdonut.co.uk/business/node/5457#DFS13

Jayh

Thanks for the reply. We agreed I would pay CSA every month, which I have and that wife would have house and I would be left with money to obtain new property / rent. It was amicable and saved going to court , we did the divorce ourselves and it cost £550 saving us a lot of time and money.

AnotherJoe

Well I'm not sure that saving will have been worth it unless you can fix this.