selling house with old married name on deeds etc

freeflyer

Hi all.. my partner and I are in the last stages of selling our respective houses and buying combined. She recently got a (very late)  query from the solicitor because her house is in her old married name, but she has since changed her name back to her maiden name. In regards her name change, she applied, filled in all forms etc, and got them witnessed, but it was never enrolled as such. As far as we are aware, this is fine and how the vast majority of people do it. Her bank accounts, current mortgage, driving licence, council tax, polling card etc etc are all in her original (maiden) name again. The deeds etc for the house however are in her married name.
The solicitor (and in particular the solicitors secretary)  seem to have a lack of knowledge on this (ie,'you havent legally changed your name.. its not registered with anyone.. you can't sell your house under your new name'), despite the fact that all her driving licence etc etc is in her new and original (maiden)  name. Anyway, because of this they are suggesting to sell her house in her married name that appears on the deeds . 

They insist this will not delay anything.. but to be honest we're not fillied with confidence with them. Cany anyone advise if selling the house under the married old name will delay anything?  She is providing them with marriage certificate etc (which they say they dont need to see yet) .

Also, are we correct in that her name is officially changed now if the change was never fully enrolled?

cattie

I'm not 100% certain, but I thought it didn't make any difference which name  you used if you'd previously been known by 2 different names, ie; maiden name & then married name. It's not as if she is trying to use either of the names to deceive.

My sister uses both names, having never changed her bank details over when she became divorced & it's never caused her a problem as far as I know.

AdrianC

Miss J Smith is trying to sell a house registered at the Land Registry as being owned by Mrs J Bloggs.

They appear to merely be suggesting putting the sale paperwork through in the name of Mrs J Bloggs (who, legally, your sister still is), rather than the name she uses of Miss J Smith.

I can't see any great issue here at all.

davidmcn

I also can't see why it matters which name she uses, as long as there's evidence of the change of name. There's no such thing in the UK as an "official" change of name, you can use two (or more!) names if you want.

babyblade41

didn't affect my sale at all 

p00hsticks

davidmcn said:

 There's no such thing in the UK as an "official" change of name

Well there is - it's done via a deed poll.

https://www.gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll

But as you say, as long as there is no intention to deceive there is nothing to stop people using as many differnt names as they wish

freeflyer

davidmcn said:

I also can't see why it matters which name she uses, as long as there's evidence of the change of name. There's no such thing in the UK as an "official" change of name, you can use two (or more!) names if you want.

Thats the point.. the solicitor (or at least her secretary, as speaking to the solicitor is near impossible) seems to think there is some kind of legal name change process (as far as we know, there isn't.. just a registrat enrty should you wish to use it , but most people dont bother).. My partner does have the form which she filled out and got witnessed, and has since used for bank accounts and her driving licence. however the solicitors dont seem to think this is enough and instead say she needs to sell it in her old name.

davidmcn

p00hsticks said:

davidmcn said:

 There's no such thing in the UK as an "official" change of name

Well there is - it's done via a deed poll.

https://www.gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll

But as you say, as long as there is no intention to deceive there is nothing to stop people using as many differnt names as they wish

Well, that's what I meant - unlike some other countries, you're not restricted to using only one "legal" name at a time. And you don't need to use a deed poll to change your name, it just makes things easier when people start asking for evidence.

frogglet

We had our joint bank account , mortgages still in my maiden name for years. I used to take my birth and marriage certificates if there was something to sort out.
We are currently selling a house and its just reminded me its probably still in my maiden name.

anmarj

We sold last year and originally it was in my maiden name, our solicitor just added a note to paperwork stating i was now mrs x rather than miss m. Get hold of the solicitor and get confirmation from them directly.

TBagpuss

freeflyer said:

Thats the point.. the solicitor (or at least her secretary, as speaking to the solicitor is near impossible) seems to think there is some kind of legal name change process (as far as we know, there isn't.. just a registrat enrty should you wish to use it , but most people dont bother).. My partner does have the form which she filled out and got witnessed, and has since used for bank accounts and her driving licence. however the solicitors dont seem to think this is enough and instead say she needs to sell it in her old name.

Well, we can't see from here what she signed and whether it would be something which would be acceptable to the Land registry.

It is is a formal change of name deed, either done as a deed poll using the government forms or as a statutory declaration or formal deed then it should be sufficient. If it is just something the downloaded off the internet it may not be adequate,.

Your name is whatever you chose, there's no requirement to enroll or register any change, but the other side of that coin is that each organization can decide for itself whether  your document is sufficient and meets their internal rules. The Land registry is usually fine with change of name deeds so it may be that there is a specific issue with the format or wording of the document your partner did. Has the solicitor actually seen it? 

in this case, it may be simplest for your partner to use her former name for signing all the paperwork etc.