Home ownership & marriage

[FirstTimePetitioner]

DP and I own a house together as tenants in common (I think that's what it's called), with him owning a higher percentage as he contributed more to the deposit from equity on the sale of a previous property.

We're getting married next year, have a DS together and are planning another DC shortly, and have other joint financial commitments. We don't have any wills.

I'm wondering if I should speak to him about changing the ownership to joint tenancy? What are the pros/cons of this?

I'm just thinking about my and our DCs security if something were to happen. I don't think the difference in the amount of money used in the deposit is that significant any more. Also, for a bit of extra context, I inherited a similar amount a few years ago and spent it on a holiday of a lifetime with DP (pre DS).

No, student loans are cancelled when you die.

I thought so, thanks!

Just reading and have a question.....

I own my house, interest only as previously owned with ex, and so it was affordable and I could buy him out I did it this way.
I’ve owned house for 13 years. Have been with my husband for 7 years, married for nearly 3.
We never changed the mortgage etc as 1) he’d never paid towards the equity, it being interest only, 2) his credit wasn’t great at the time so didn’t want to go through a whole mortgage application, and 3) it was just easier as IF something happened he couldn’t claim any equity split as he’s never paid towards the interest. He was also not bothered about changing things.

House now has about £140k equity, so are you saying he could claim half of this if we split?

We don’t have wills as I’m happy for him to have the house if I die.

As you are married the house is an asset of the marriage. If you divorce it would go into the pot to be split between you. That doesn't mean he would get half of it. That depends on a range of factors. But it would go into the pot along with everything else either of you owns.

Oh, okay, I didn’t know that! Even though he’s never contributed to paying any of it off, and neither have I since it’s been in just my name? And the house was something I had before we met etc?

So, if we bought our next house together (which is the plan in 5 years), I wouldn’t be able to protect my £140k deposit I’d put down? Not even if we had something written up legally to say that would be my money if we split?

When you marry all assets become shared assets. The fact you brought the money into the relationship would be taken into account although the fact you have been together for 7 years means it would carry less weight than it would in a shorter relationship. You could potentially enter into a post nuptial agreement but the courts can still overturn that if they consider that the terms are not fair. You and your husband would need to take independent legal advice if you wanted to go down that route.

Ah okay... So if a ‘tenants in common’ agreement (I think it is) is signed when we buy together, stating that the deposit is put down by me and I’d get that back first if we split, is there no weight behind that, and could he still get (theoretically) half?

My marriage is fine, really good, but I’ll always want to protect my assets as I’ve worked hard to get them. And if he had an affair, say, I wouldn’t want him to have half of what I had before I even knew him.

prh is right. If you are married and in England it does not matter usually who contributed what the starting point is 50%. if you are not married it is different.

You could try each seeing a solicitor to draw up and advise you on a post nuptial agreement but even that is only of indicative force if you divorce, not definite.

He might get more than half. My ex got 59% as I earned a lot more. Plenty of non earning wives who have not earned a penny ever before or after get 50% or more.

If you want to protect your half you could 1. sever the joint tenancy. 2 put it in trust for your children perhaps with your mother and sibling as trustee althoug there are all kinds of tax and other downsides to that and even if you do that some divorce courts have undone trusts.

You can go from joint tenants to TIC by severing, but if you start off as TIC you can't actually change that to a joint tenancy (I'm a property solicitor).

As PPs have advised, have wills drawn up by a solicitor