Separation and selling house to wife.

randomusername25

I am separating from my wife, we are amicable and have agreed a price for the house and she has got a mortgage and solicitors to do the conveyancing. My question is if I am happy with the price do I need a solicitor acting for me or can I safely sign the transfer paperwork with the notification that I will vacate the property once I have the agreed funds?

elsien

Will you be doing a full financial consent agreement to cover all the other assets? 

randomusername25

We are clearing all joint debts and an allowance has been made towards me buying furniture, bedding pots pans etc. 

elsien

Don’t forget pensions as well. They are all part of the pot. 

randomusername25

We will be getting divorced so all this will be sorted eventually but currently it’s just whether I really need to pay for a solicitor to cover my back on the sale of the house or if because she is doing it through a solicitor it’s ok just to sign the transfer paperwork.

elsien

Legally, you can sign property documents without needing a solicitor. The purpose of your own solicitor is to protect you because the solicitor she is using is to protect her. 

Your call as to whether you think you need that protection or not. 

AskAsk

We have done this ourselves.  You need a solicitor and so does she and they need to be ones that have experience in equity transfer as it isn't the normal sale and purchase.

Without a separation agreement and court proceedings in place, she will need to pay stamp duty on the share that she is buying unless that is below the stamp duty threshold.

If you are buying a new place, you will also need to pay the additional stamp duty as you would still be considered to own the property for additional stamp duty until you are officially divorced.  You can claim back the additional stamp duty if your divorce completes within 3 years of you purchasing a new property.  If you have a separation agreement and divorce proceedings in place, you will not have to pay this additional stamp duty.

user1977

AskAsk said:

You need a solicitor and so does she 

Neither of them needs a solicitor. The wife has more use for one as she will want to ensure she's getting good title in exchange for her money (and given she is buying with a mortgage, her lender will need a solicitor, and if she's paying for that then she may as well also instruct the same solicitor to act for her).

The OP just needs the money, so a solicitor for them would really only serve to ensure that they get the price in exchange for their share of the property.

AskAsk

user1977 said:

AskAsk said:

You need a solicitor and so does she 

Neither of them needs a solicitor. The wife has more use for one as she will want to ensure she's getting good title in exchange for her money (and given she is buying with a mortgage, her lender will need a solicitor, and if she's paying for that then she may as well also instruct the same solicitor to act for her).

The OP just needs the money, so a solicitor for them would really only serve to ensure that they get the price in exchange for their share of the property.

the wife's solicitor will not speak to the OP and will want to speak to a solicitor for the "purchase".  her solicitor will need to agree the wording on the TR1 form with his solicitor.

also for stamp duty and capital gains tax / exemption, HMRC and land registry will be less likely to question solicitors submissions than individual submissions.

I am not sure her solicitor will pay him the money if he hasn't got a solicitor as AML checks on him need to be done before he can have the money.

because of the sparation / divorce complications, things need to be done through solicitors otherwise there is the legal issue as well as the tax issue.

user1977

AskAsk said:

user1977 said:

AskAsk said:

You need a solicitor and so does she 

Neither of them needs a solicitor. The wife has more use for one as she will want to ensure she's getting good title in exchange for her money (and given she is buying with a mortgage, her lender will need a solicitor, and if she's paying for that then she may as well also instruct the same solicitor to act for her).

The OP just needs the money, so a solicitor for them would really only serve to ensure that they get the price in exchange for their share of the property.

because of the sparation / divorce complications, things need to be done through solicitors otherwise there is the legal issue as well as the tax issue.

They really do not "need to be done through solicitors" at all. And no idea where you're getting the idea that HMRC would somehow be happier with a taxpayer's CGT because they used a solicitor to do the conveyancing (not that CGT seems involved in the OP's case anyway). You're quite mistaken.