Newly Weds - Buying house together - Trust of Deeds on Deposit

[VD123]

Hi All,

So me and my partner got married back in July. We are looking to purchase our first house (first time buyers). I will be putting up around £30k of the deposit whilst my partner cannot afford to contribute no more than a grand or two.

I brought up the uncomfortable conversation of getting a deed of trust signed, to say who put what into the house deposit, and how the house should be split if the worse was to happen (I'd get back my £30k and we would split the rest of the house equally).

What position would I be in legally if my partner did not want to sign this trust deed for whatever reason?

Assuming all mortgage payments, bills etc were contributed equally by us, and assuming no kids, what would happen in the unfortunate event that we split up? If we split up within 6 months of buying a house, would I then lose 50% of my deposit I put in?

What if we split up after several years?

Any help would be appreciated!

Thankyou

How long were you together before marriage?

About 3 years prior to marriage.

It’s odd that you’re calling this person your partner rather than husband or wife I really can’t imagine planning financially for divorce three months into marriage...why did you get married if you’re not setting yourselves up as a partnership?!

I’m not an expert but my understanding is that it would be a 50% split of the finances without the deed of trust. You can’t make him/ her sign it so you need to decide how important this is to you.
Someone else more knowledgeable may come along and correct me.

You shouldn't worry having this conversation in my opinion.

I put more deposit into our house than my husband and we agreed should anything happen the house is split 50/50 but I get my deposit back. He said of course that's only fair it was my hard earned money he wouldn't take that from me.

Surly being with someone 3 years this should have been discussed previously?

It would depend on various factors, such as how long the marriage lasted, whether there are any dependent children. It may be that there would be a 50:50 split of the entire sale proceeds of the house, regardless of who made what contribution to the deposit. It depends if the divorce was amicable and your husband/wife agreed not to pursue the deposit, or whether the Court ended up ruling on finances.

A deed of trust would certainly be helpful in this position. But if you're already thinking of divorce, is it wise to be buying a house together?

I also put more deposit into our first joint house. Never even thought about it when we divorced, quite honestly but I can understand why you might. You don't sound as if you have much faith in your recent marriage though :-(

You said you brought the idea up with your partner, what was their reaction?

You need a post nup if in anticipation of divorce. Involves costs and both having independent legal advice

I came to my marriage with a home of my own and 50% equity. Ex husband came to it from a rented room with no other assets. 20year marriage. Was supposed to have been tennants in common but solicitor messed up and I didn't realize at the time 3 solicitors told me that I couldn't claim anything other than 50/50 as a starting point. Settled with slightly more but only got that because he wanted my classic car too and was keeping all the furniture etc. Only stuff I got he was throwing out anyhow... If the marriage is short I understand that it would go more how you want but if it's longer, probably not...

The OP is right to be concerned about her deposit. Sadly the law will strip her of her savings if the worst happens - and of course there’s always a chance. Some relationships are sadly very one-sided and marriage does not benefit the more conscientious partner. The longer you are married the worse it will be. Best advice is not to wed, sounds like it’s too late for that now.

Sharing my experience of this matter. My ex and I signed a deed of trust in exactly these circumstances some five years before marriage. I put in 100k+ as a deposit back in the day when that was a very large chunk of the purchase price. She put in zero. When divorce rolled around some years later the judge said he had "no hesitation at all" in setting aside the deed. We still owned the property but had not lived in it for a decade so it was not a matrimonial home.
Marriage is a legal commitment about money. The "with all my worldly goods I thee endow" bit endures long after all the other bits like "to have and to hold" have fallen to ashes. Caveat emptor, OP.

@manaskingforadvice That is why nobody should EVER get married.

Thanks for the advice all.

@missyB1

After having the initial conversation, they didn't want to sign as they felt they paid more for the wedding costs. Although I wasn't really that involved in the wedding organisation. (E.g, you can't just spend 50 grand and expect the other half to pay 25grand! When they didn't have that much of a say about who to hire, how much this is costing etc etc!)

@NotBeingRobbed

I was under the impression from what I read somewhere, that if the marriage is short, say less then 5 years, and it came to divorce, the judge would see how much person A and person B has put in. I.e, who paid what for the house, who pays for the mortgage, the bills, living costs etc. So it didn't result in 50/50.

Else in a situation where person A put 100grand for the house deposit, person B put in 0. After a split 2 years down the line, would person B be eligible for 50grand ? Trust deed or not trust deed..

On a more positive note, both of us want our marriage to work, we've had a rocky start hence my concerns in making this thread!

Thanks