He's planning to sell the house behind her back

[Returnofthemaccys]

Hi, I'd welcome any advice about what to do and whether this is legal.

DH's brother is married and lives in Scotland. He bought a house with a deposit that he saved up while married. Only his name is on the deeds even though they were married when he bought it about a year ago. Their marriage is in trouble and wife has moved in with her parents 8 months ago but continues to pay the mortgage as he has lost his job and she feels sorry for him. The marriage breakdown is largely due to his behaviour (which also caused him to lose the job). Wife moved back in recently but is now saying it's over and she wants a divorce.

I've found out from DH tonight that BIL is planning to sell the house behind her back. He's going to sell it to a friend who wants to flip it as an investment property so it won't be on the market, no viewings etc. Friend will then rent it to him until after the divorce so that SIL can't get half of the deposit equity. SIL pays the mortgage by putting money in his account and he pays so I think she'll never know.

My two questions are 1) Can he do this in Scotland and get away with it, both in terms of her not knowing it's being sold out from under her and in terms of her not being entitled to the money from it in the divorce if she files for divorce after the sale? and 2) Should I tell her? I don't know her very well at all but could contact her, but it's really none of my business. My loyalty is very technically with DH's brother though actually I'm disgusted by many aspects of his behaviour. But MIL is fully on board and knows and is championing this so me getting involved would massively rock the boat.

[ReallySpicyCurry]

I'd straight up tell her and to hell with the consequences.

I'd ask her not to mention it to the inlaws for the sake of peace, but if she did I'd happily have that battle with them, because I don't believe in sacrificing my own principles to cover up for lying scumbags

I'd suggest that next time they don't inform me when they're planning on doing something morally corrupt

I'd also make sure my own access to marital assets was watertight because I bet if you and DH split up they'd be whispering in his ear in no time.

[Tomorrowistomorrow]

My ex husband had a house, he brought whilst married to me and we jointly paid the mortgage -I transferred the money to him- each month. Solely in his name -we divorced early on and he claimed in with his. He got it .20 years ago now but still stings. You DH doesn't have moral backbone at all -I'd ask DH to pick side for his marriage -but I wouldn't or couldn't have anything more to do with the inlaws.

[Rainbowqueeen]

There’s a saying I heard recently that really resonated with me “what we allow, we encourage”.

I would tell her. In a conversation. I’d also ask her to keep it confidential. There is no reason for anyone to know it was you if she simply says she started divorce proceedings and saw a lawyer. Any divorce lawyer worth their salt would register her interest over the major asset of the marriage if their client told them that their name was not on the deeds but they were still paying the mortgage. She can just say it was done on legal advice.

[rainbowstardrops]

What a shitty family, the lot of them!!! There's no way I'd keep quiet because the SIL deserves to know and why are you so worried about causing a rift when they're all corrupt and nasty!!!
If you and DH sit back and let it happen then you're both as bad as that family.
Oh and watch your back because you could very well be next!

[IseeIsee]

If your MIL is encouraging his behaviour then there will likely be a family fall out if she finds out you let his wife know. Are you prepared for that? What does your DH think?

[ApolloandDaphne]

I don't know if this works the other way round but I am married and live in Scotland and I sold a house which was in my name during this year. The lawyer had to get my DH to sign a declaration saying he was aware that I was selling the house. I asked why they did that but I now can't remember what they said. I'm assuming that it would work the other way round too I would think your BIL will need a lawyer to complete the sale even if it is private so I guess it might all stall at this point anyway.

[greenspacesoverthere]

I'd have to find a way to tell her. Poor woman.

If I were you , @Returnofthemaccys , I wouldn't assume that DH is going to be nice in a crisis and I'd get your own personal and joint finances legally watertight right now

[greenspacesoverthere]

If you could somehow find out who her solicitor is, you could tell him/her. Might be easier to keep your news private that way?

[sleepyhead]

Sold in Scotland a few years ago. Dh wasnt on the deeds but had to go into the solicitor's office to give signed permission for sale.

I don't think there would have been an option to forge his signature as it had to be witnessed.

[lucidnightmare]

Just be aware that Scottish law is different to English law and as I said early on and a few pp have confirmed, he can’t do this. She has to sign an agreement -even if her name is nowhere near it.
I’d still tell her so she can be sure he doesn’t try anyway and I’d be carefully protecting my interest in all assets if I were you, especially if you’re not in Scotland and live somewhere you’re not protected. Your husbands attitude should be worrying you and showing what could happen to you.

[Gremlinsateit]

I don’t know anything at all about Scottish law but this sounds awfully like criminal fraud meaning you and DH could be involved as accessories before the fact ... if that helps strengthen your resolve to get the message through to SIL.

The thing is, if he’s prepared to do this he might also be prepared to lie that it’s not the matrimonial home and then spend the money so SIL can’t recover her share. So I think you have to tell her and can’t just trust the process.

[Socksey]

If it's the marital home he can't sell it without her permission.... in England and Wales so would expect similar in Scotland... used to live there and house was in my name only needed both of us to sell as we were married.... currently in Wales and part of the legal docs when you sell is a declaration to that effect and if it is a signature from my DH is required and if I said not and then sold, which could happen, then I could be taken to court by him and possibly lose more than 50%...
So basically he's better off not doing this as he could get into a whole pile of hot water and it could cost him a lot more

[StatisticallyChallenged]

@ApolloandDaphne

I don't know if this works the other way round but I am married and live in Scotland and I sold a house which was in my name during this year. The lawyer had to get my DH to sign a declaration saying he was aware that I was selling the house. I asked why they did that but I now can't remember what they said. I'm assuming that it would work the other way round too I would think your BIL will need a lawyer to complete the sale even if it is private so I guess it might all stall at this point anyway.

Same here, our matrimonial home is in my name as DH self employed and he has to sign declarations on sale and (re)mortgage. However, if I'd not mentioned his existence I'm not sure how the solicitors would have known - I don't recall anything that would have highlighted it.

[ivykaty44]

tell her by phone, don't message her or type this, call her on facebook and have a very short conversation which warns her of the plan and then hang up

[DartmoorDoughnut]

Can you advise her to see a SHL and get advice re property as she’s not on the deeds and then the SHL can take the blame?

[CakeRequired]

She should be told, and the family should be told what assholes they are. I'd have done both once they told me what they are doing. Wouldn't give a shit if that meant I never saw them again, aw what a shame, I don't have to see scheming assholes again. Your life will probably be better without them in it, and if your husband sides with them, you know what other mistake you made.

[dontdisturbmenow]

How long were they married for? I can of see where he is coming from. If he put £20k deposit down for instance (and how he managed to save it before even meeting your SIL is irrelevant) and after one year there is little equity to get back but the equivalent deposit, I can understand how he wouldn't want to share this if she left him 4 months in.

Why would she be paying towards a mortgage that isn't here though? Feeling sorry for him seems a bit of an extreme reason. Maybe there's much more to the story than the rest of the family knows.

[Stinkerbells]

I would tell her to stop paying the mortgage. Yes sounds illegal. Like PP said could she register an interest in the property.

[Malteserlover50]

I don’t have any idea about the law but I cannot believe your in laws are allowing this to happen. That poor woman. Please OP make sure everything is above board for yourself.

With regards to your in law. Send me her details (wherher it be email or Facebook) I will message her. I’m in Scotland so when she gets the message her DH and his family will think someone connected to your BIL will have told someone what he plans to do and have decided to tell his wife and it won’t come back to you.

I couldn’t sit back and let this happen to anyone.

[Malteserlover50]

Infact Facebook will probably be better as my Facebook has an anagram of my name!

[ALLIS0N]

I've found out from DH tonight that BIL is planning to sell the house behind her back. He's going to sell it to a friend who wants to flip it as an investment property so it won't be on the market, no viewings etc. Friend will then rent it to him until after the divorce so that SIL can't get half of the deposit equity. SIL pays the mortgage by putting money in his account and he pays so I think she'll never know

Even if he sell it privately he needs a home report, so a surveyor will have to visit to do a survey .

And the husband will have to sign legal documents as part of the sale to say that there’s no one who has any rights to the property under the Act. So that would be fraud.

And if the husband tells his solicitor that he’s married, they will not proceed until they have seen evidence of a divorce.

The wife has occupancy rights as she has moved back into the house - I think she has to leave for 2 years before she loses them. So her being at her mothers for 8 months doesn’t matter.

And even if the sale did go through, the husband’s friend’s right to occupy the property would only be if he had bought it in good faith, unaware of the vendor’s wife’s rights. It would be hard to argue he was unaware, given the nature of the sale.


Even then, the Friend can’t rent the house to him unless he’s a registered landlord. So the information about the property being rented out will be in the public domaine on the register.

The husband would have to sign a tenancy agreement saying that he was the only adult living there.

Even if all of this works , the money in the bank would still be a marital asset.

The wife is not just entitled to a share of the deposit, she is entitled to a share of the capital gain, although that might not be very much if it was only bought a year ago.

There are so many holes in this plan that even I can spot and I’m not a Solicitor.

[wildraisins]

Even if her name isn't on the deeds, if they are married then legally she owns half of the house. Unless they had a prenump?

I would have thought no matter how he does the house sale, when they divorce she will get half of whatever he has in the bank, unless I'm missing something. It really doesn't matter if her name is on it or not.

[dontdisturbmenow]

*I would have thought no matter how he does the house sale, when they divorce she will get half of whatever he has in the bank"
He probably intends to spend it before the divorce but she'd probably be able to challenge it based in the deceit.

I still think OP might not have all the correct info so getting involve could indeed do more harm than good if it's down to misleading information.

[Roselilly36]

There’s no way this will happen, I would keep out of it. He will never get away with it.

[StatisticallyChallenged]

I suspect he intends to spend the money pre divorce. Whilst there may be remedies available in terms of unwinding the transaction (not sure) this would be a potentially long slow process going through court. It would be better for her if it simply didn't happen.