CGT Planning When Getting Married

WYSPECIAL

Getting married this year and we currently have a house each but will only be able to nominate one as our Principle Residence for CGT purposes once married.

House one we currently live in and intend to be out long term home. Owned and lived in for 24 years. Purchased for £60k current value c£250k no mortgage.

House two owned and lived in for 10 years. Purchased for £150k current value c£250k. Mortgage outstanding c£90k. Currently lived in by future wife's children and our intention is to sell it in about five years time.

To avoid paying CGT on this sale would it be better to nominate this as our principle residence until it is sold and then transfer it back to house one? This would create a CGT liability on house one but there are no plans to sell so it would probably never be realised.

Is it worth further reducing CGT liability by putting both houses in both our names or would the cost of doing this outweigh the savings?

Current wills that we each currently have will still reflect our wishes after marriage but will be invalidated by the marriage. Can we make codicils that these wills are to remain marriage or would it be better to make new wills in anticipation of marriage basically saying the same as the current ones? Although this would change if house one is put in both names.

Is there anything else we should be putting in place? We already have POA done which as far as I am aware isn't invalidated by marriage?

Kynthia

If neither of you are living at House Two, and someone else is, then are you able to nominate that one?

WYSPECIAL

Kynthia said:

If neither of you are living at House Two, and someone else is, then are you able to nominate that one?

Currently her kids live in house 2 and pay board while saving to get their own places like kids do but it belongs to my partner. All the bills are in her name and everything in it, bar kids personal belongings, is hers. We treat it as our home and have personal stuff there for if ever we stay over.

It's just more convenient to stay at house 1 the majority of the time and that is the one we intend to keep when we go down to one house.

As far as I see it the only difference when we are married is we will only be able to nominate one of the houses as our PR whereas currently we have one each. Or am I missing something?