What rights does a wife have if she’s not on the deeds of a house?

[Twoweekcruise]

I will, of course start off by saying that I know I am an idiot but an idiot I am!
DH and I purchased our first (and up to date our only) house in 1999. DH put down a good sized deposit for the house.
We have lived there happily ever since.
DH has always paid the mortgage and most bills.
Due to some health issues I have worked part time for many years.
We married in 2002, had our dc and I became a sahp for a number of years.
I have been back working part time for some years. DH still pays the now small mortgage, the main food shop and most household bills. I pay for a top up food shop every week, all of the kids clothes, their pocket money and any thing else they need (clubs, hobbies etc), most of my money goes on our dc.
We were going through some things recently and I have discovered, much to my horror (at my own stupidity) that I have never been on the deeds of the house. I said to dh that needs to change asap.
But it has got me thinking.
What rights does a wife has if she is not on the mortgage of her house and gets divorced? Do the courts take in to consideration your financial contributions over the years?
BTW, we have a good marriage and have no intention of divorcing but you never know in life, things can change in a heartbeat!
If I left things how they are (which I am not btw), would I be shafted if the worst were to happen? Does being marriage save you in these circumstances, I have heard common law partnerships have no rights?

My understanding, OP (based on unfortunate personal experience), is that if you are married, everything goes into the pot regardless of whose name is on the deeds.

However, what I don't understand - given that you are married - is why all your money isn't 'household' money anyway.

I think the marriage saves you

There is no such thing as a common law partnership. I believe that as a spouse, you are entitled to the marital home. And a quick google finds me confirmation like this rightsofwomen.org.uk/get-information/family-law/marriage-your-rights-to-your-home/

However, I have to state I'm not a lawyer.

I own a house independently of DH.
Its a marital asset if we divorce.. (in fact he'll probably get that one and I would keep the main house!)

I can however technically cut him out if I die and leave it to someone else.

Hi! It's the matrital home, you are married. You will be fine should any issues arise.

Your contribution to bringing up children etc would definitely be taken into account. All marital assets should in theory be equally divided including the marital home even if only one person bought it/is on the deeds.

However they will also take into consideration things like who the children will mainly live with, other assets, pensions, length of the marriage, what each partner contributed (not just money) and disabilities/health issues.

Sometimes one partner will be allowed to remain in the house until the children turn 18, sometimes it will need to be sold so each partner can then use the money to buy or rent separate properties.

I don't think you need to panic too much as you are married (it would be different if you were unmarried partners which is what the phrase 'common law marriage' means although as you say it doesn't really have any legal standing, in England/Wales anyway). It's not technically as simple as 'everything goes in the pot' if you are married, different rules apply in Scotland and in other jurisdictions and there are some circumstances where some assets may not count as part of the marital assets, e.g a valuable business built up by one partner before the marriage, or in some circumstances, inheritance from one party's family. There may be a pre or post nuptial agreement to be referred to about who owns what. But for a normal, average married couple, their marital home would usually count as a joint asset on divorce regardless of whose name is actually on the deeds, although it's still worth sorting that out so it's clear for instance what happens in the event of one of your deaths etc...

rightsofwomen.org.uk/get-information/family-law/marriage-your-rights-to-your-home/

You are married so have matrimonial home rights. You can register your rights especially if you are concerned he’ll try and sell or throw you out.

In a nutshell yes marriage is there to protect women in your position and your contribution to family life would be taken into account if you split so you are entitled to share of matrimonial home even if in his sole name.

If you are unmarried you don’t get same protections. Good guide on CAB re differences between marriage and co habitation.

Been there, done that.

Solicitors didn’t blink with regards to not having joint names on the mortgage or deeds. It all went into the pot together with amounts in separate accounts, etc.

Apart from the couple of savings accounts he lied about though and I only found out about later, but I had no recourse by then. He just didn’t disclose. Bastard.

If the marriage is a long one you would be granted a 50% share of the equity in the house AFAIK.

No such thing as common law marriage in England.
If you are unmarried and split you keep own assets (house, pension), if you die your next of kin or who you specify in will inherits. He has obligation to children to pay child support but no financial obligations to ex.

You should check what would happen if your DH died. Might be a problem if you don’t technically own the house.

Thanks all. I will definitely get my name on the deeds asap though, just for peace of mind.

Depending on your DH will, it could be more of an issue for you if he died rather than if you divorced.

I am the sole owner of my home, which DH lives in. It is willed to the children and not DH. He has a right to remain but they will be the owner. It prevents them from being disinherited if I die and he goes on to remarry.