House deeds

Allinaday

Hi. In 1996 I bought my house via a mortgage from Halifax Bank. In 1997 I got married and the mortgage has since been paid off with the house in my name only the deeds. I have already made a Will via a solicitor, leaving my wife everything as a beneficiary, including the house. Could anyone please advise whether the Will is sufficient prove, to give the right for my wife to continue living or owning the property. Or do I need to contact the Land Registry to amend the deeds and add my wife’s name as joint owner now.
I assume that if the Will is sufficient prove, then my wife would still have to have the deeds amended, at a later date to have her name legally entered on the deeds. Could you please advise how this situation would be dealt with, and what is the best way to prepare for any unfortunate demise. 

Thank you.
kind regards,
(Removed by Forum Team)

RAS

In which country are you in? Different parts of UK have different rules.

Do you have children, jointly or separately? And have you taken advice in IHT?

Allinaday

Hi Ras. I live in Yorkshire and I have two children from a previous marriage. Those children are now 42&38 years old. My previous wife re-married and had custody of the children. The reason I require advice is whether I need to add my wife of 26 years to the house deeds or is the Will sufficient proof required for her to reside in the house. The Will only refers to the children on the death of both partners.

Keep_pedalling

if if you make your wife a joint owner as joint tenants then the whole house would pass to her automatically and would not depend on the will. The advantage of this is that unlike a will it cannot be challenged.

There could be downsides to this depending on what you want to happen to your house if she dies first or you die together in an accident.

Allinaday

Thank you keep-pedalling. If my wife died first I would still want to live in the property and likewise with my wife if I were to die first. The will would not be contested in reference to the property and basically I just simply want to know whether it is best to change the deeds to joint names or is the Will legally sufficient for the house to be passed to my wife. I was told a few years ago that if my wife is named as the main beneficiary to receive the property then that should be okay, but it seems no one can officially give me a definite answer. Do I pay the land registry for adding my wife’s name or do I pay a solicitors fee to ask whether the will is sufficient?

Land_Registry

Allinaday said:

Thank you keep-pedalling. If my wife died first I would still want to live in the property and likewise with my wife if I were to die first. The will would not be contested in reference to the property and basically I just simply want to know whether it is best to change the deeds to joint names or is the Will legally sufficient for the house to be passed to my wife. I was told a few years ago that if my wife is named as the main beneficiary to receive the property then that should be okay, but it seems no one can officially give me a definite answer. Do I pay the land registry for adding my wife’s name or do I pay a solicitors fee to ask whether the will is sufficient?

It’s not generally something we can give you a definitive answer on but I can try to help. 

Wills are in my experience often used in this way and the process relies on the law protecting such interests etc to ensure where appropriate the will is followed. 

Legal ownership of a property is different although the law is still very relevant but in a different way. 

For example if you are the sole legal owner then the property forms part of your estate when you die. An executor is then created through probate and they then deal with the estate. The will, and the law, then click in as the executor then follows the will and deals with the property accordingly. 

Houses are often left in wills in such ways but the executor/wife doesn’t change the legal ownership. That’s fine of course as that’s what was intended but at some point the legal ownership will need to be updated and probate/executor then do that. 

So you can transfer it into joint names now. Or you can rely on the wills and your executor to ensure things play out as planned for. The choice is really yours. 

The key consideration tends to be what’s best for both you and your wife for a variety of reasons inc tax, what her will says, trusts etc etc as that may help you decide what’s ‘best’ to do rather than what do I have to do. 

Mojisola

If you want your wife to own the house fully if you die before her, why wouldn't you make her a joint owner now?

If you want her to be able to live in it (and use the capital to downsize, etc) for the rest of her life but someone of your choice to inherit it after her death, you will need a professionally written will setting that out.

Sarahspangles

Is your actual intention (as set out in your Will) to leave the house to your adult children, but in trust so that your wife can live there for the remainder of her life? In your second post you say “is the Will sufficient proof required for her to reside in the house. The Will only refers to the children on the death of both partners” which sounds a bit different from what you described in your first post.