Adding my name to deeds of house

[PestoEatsPastiesandSurfboards]

When we first bought this house I was on maternity leave and therefore DH took out the mortgage in his name only. He said it was easier to have the house in his name only too, for that reason

Anyhow, he is now ill (with cancer) and I'm worried if anything should happen, that it will be a big mess for me to have to sort out the house if it's still in his name only. He said it would automatically come to me as I am his wife, but I am not so sure (we haven't made wills).

So, I am thinking of asking for my name to be added to the Deeds of the house (which is now fully paid for), but want to know if this is expensive? DH gave up working as soon as he was diagnosed, and I am a SAHM looking after everybody - so we don't really have an income any more.

I would be grateful for your advice. Thank you

Sorry to hear your sad news .

It's fairly straightforward and cheapish (starting at £50, based on the value of your house, I think) - you wouldn't need a solicitor. Contact the Land Registry. They are really helpful. I'm on a career break from there but tbh I'm pretty out of touch so hesitate to tell you the exact procedure !

Agree with your dh, though, that it would pass to you anyway. I'm sure someone more knowledgable will be along in a minute.....

Whether or not your DH is right about the house depends on what it is worth.

If your DH dies without making a will you are entitled to the first £250,000 of his estate and all of his personal possessions including his car if he owns one. Half of anything over £250,000 is shared equally between his children. You get the interest on the other half of anything over £250,000 until you die, at which point the capital is shared equally between his children. So the central question is the value of your house. If it is worth less than £250,000 it will go to you. If it is worth more than that his children will be entitled to a share. You can resolve this by paying the difference into the estate. So if, for example, the house is worth £300,000 you can keep it by paying £50,000 into the estate.

Note that life insurances and pensions are usually written in such a way that they do not form part of the deceased's estate.

If you become joint tenants you will automatically become the sole owner of the home when your DH dies and it will not form part of his estate. You can sort this out by filling in form RX1 from the Land Registry but you may want legal help in doing this. It doesn't necessarily cost much - you may be able to get it done for less than £50.

Thank you so much for your replies.

It is a worrying time, but I haven't broached any of this with DH to date, as I don't want to put any extra strain on him (and our relationship!).

If anyone can think of a tactful way of me bringing it up, I would also be very grateful.

Can I suggest you both make wills as well.

I want to, but DH has always resisted. It is now even harder to broach that subject as although DH's cancer is curable (so we have been told), it is a very sensitive subject. His BIL passed away from cancer, too, only last month, so it's all a bit close to home at the moment.

I will have to tread carefully, but I really do want to get the house deeds sorted out at the very least.