House Title Transfer

[sumleo]

Hi,
Unfortunately me and my wife and nearing our divorce :-(
Me and my wife have agreed mutually on our finances.

We have got a house (our main home) in both our name and we had taken mortgage for it from a bank as well as availed help to buy scheme.

My wife is happy to transfer all the rights of the house as well as possession solely in my name.

Is there any legal document which I can get her to sign which states that she wants to transfer all the rights, provide an executed voluntary transfer of the Matrimonial Home in my name?
And I can use that document with help to buy , land registry and mortgage bank later on without needing my wife to approve/sign anything in future?

Reason for the same is that i am unsure I want to keep the house or sell it at the moment.
So i dont want to be contacting my mortgage department or help to buy department right now and pay any admin or administration fee or go though any remortgage of the loan.

Once I decide what to do with the house, I just want to be able to do things by myself without requiring my wife's approval or signature.

thanks

Not sure, I think you might be best getting Solicitor to advise what needs doing, it will probably save you doing the wrong thing.

I wouldn't risk it for a variety of reasons. You need proper legal advice as the answer is not straightforward. Your wife will want to ensure that she no longer has liability for the mortgage if the house is transferred over to you.. how is that going to work? And I think the standard mortgage clauses prohibit you doing this without their consent, so if you did, you would be breaching the mortgage conditions. You might want to check the consequences of that.

You need proper advice from a solicitor. It's possible that you might be able to get a Declaration of Trust if your wife's name is still on the mortgage; this would mean that she has no 'beneficial interest' in the property (so you could keep it or sell it - it would be entirely your choice), and would also mean that she is not liable to pay any part of the mortgage. However, it's unsatisfactory on the whole as it isn't really a 'clean break'. You will not get a definitive answer on here because nobody knows all the circumstances.

I was told by my bank it would cost £185 to remove STBEXH name from the mortgage and I would need a conveyancing solicitor to draw up the paperwork

I think you would need consent from your lender

You need to ensure this is done as part of the financial settlement and consent order - otherwise it’s meaningless

you’re both being a bit naïve at the least, …and frankly you sound like you’re pulling wool over your wife’s eyes and leaving her in vulnerable situation financially. Just cos you want to avoid some smallish admin costs?

I think you have to tell your mortgage company if it’s currently joint mortgage in both names and your wife is opting out of ownership. But irrespective of whether your mortgage company has to know, She’s being silly as without changing mortgage they could come after her in meantime for debt you accrue after she’s left.

you need to re- register through land register that you are now sole tenant otherwise she remains a legal joint tenant until you’ve done that. Another document where she’s said you’ve agreed this, doesn’t make it legal on land registry. if your wife’s name is still on deeds and she buys somewhere else, she’ll legally own 2 homes and is liable for CGT when “ you” decide to sell it. does she not realise that? Have you not thought about that?

you need a legal consent order sealed by courts.

im a big believer in not using solicitors where possible to save time and money, see link above by MN to Advice Now site. But you really can’t avoid some legal costs. Re- registration of land and admin fee to mortgage company is really small fry financially, versus what it could have cost you to sell your joint home and buy somewhere else as most folks end up doing. As I say I have doubts you’ can be as innocent in this as you make out.