I got married 3.5 years ago and changed my name. DH and I bought a house nearly 6 years ago together (50-50 ownership) and so it was purchased in my maiden name. I updated my name to my married surname on the mortgage back when we first married (along with other legal bits) but it didn’t occur to me about the Land Register. We are now looking to sell this property and buy another at some point this year (upsizing). Very early planning stages, so have time to get things sorted. No solicitors or estate agents involved yet so no one to ask for official advice. Do I need to change my name to my married name on the land registry before we sell, or can that be done as part of the process at the time we decide to sell/have found a property to buy? Online has differing advice - some places say it’s not compulsory to change and can be done as part of the process when/if you buy and sell later. Others say it should be done before to avoid delays with a sale later…
I don’t want to cause unnecessary delays or risk a sale falling through as the kind of houses we’re looking to buy don’t come up for sale in our area very often, so we need to be in a position to act fast when they do. Any advice welcome! Thanks