Registering your interest in a property

[notthisagain1]

Hi

This is what has recently been happening to me recent thread. In the light of the fact that I now do not know what h is planning and that he could sell our family home without telling me (which I don't think he would do) or put half of it in somebody else's name (which I think he would/might), I think I should register my interest in the family home with the land registry.

However, I am scared of what his finding out might lead to in terms of precipitating a divorce (which is probably going to have to happen anyway) before I am ready, my ducks are kind of not in a row. So I know that the Land Registry send the homeowner notice that someone has registered an interest (in this case his wife whom he has long refused to put on the deeds). Do they send this in an obvious envelope and would it be mad / duplicitous (though not more duplicitous than the sale and acquisition of properties that h has hidden from me over the past 2 years) for me to try to intercept the envelope so as to avoid the "shit hitting the fan" before I am ready? Feel that I should be registering my interest as I don't know what he is up to and after my recent discoveries, do not trust him at all.

Keen to know what people think but please don't be harsh if you think I am being dishonest by trying to intercept mail in this way. It's a thought for the moment.

Hi OP,

You are right to register your interest in your family home. Any solicitor worth their would insist you do that, to secure your rights, if your name is not on the deeds.

Yes the Land Registry does send a letter and it is very recognisable, with a logo at the front of the envelope. At least this was how it was a few years ago when I registered an interest in my home. If I remember rightly, two separate letters came through, as my solicitor sent off two forms.

I know exactly how you feel. You're not mad. You have to protect yourself and your children in the safest way. Of course the balanced thing to do would be to make the application and tough it out in a reasonable manner with your H when the letters come through, as you are obviously merely protecting your rightful interests.

However, he does not sound reasonable. If your H has you in a state of fear about his reaction, then he doesn't deserve that level of respect.

Obviously I would not advise anyone to do anything illegal, but I have no guilt in telling you that I intercepted the letters that came addressed to XH. You have every right to register your interest with the Land Registry so he can't re-mortgage your home from underneath you, one that is jointly yours as a result of marriage. My XH was abusive and would have reacted, er, badly if he had received the letters. I sent him divorce papers a few months later - but only once he had moved out of the house and I felt a bit safer.

I think you should register your interest, but if you hide the paperwork then it could go massively against you if it went to court.

I think you should also register an interest in the other properties too, they are assets of the marriage no matter how much he claims otherwise.

Thats not to say you have to demand half of the value of them, but having your interest registered means that he cant dispose of them without you knowing to avoid paying you anything. Also, it gives you a good starting point to negotiate a settlement from.

Thank you for your answers.

I thought you could only register your interest in the one property - the one that you live in - the others being kind of business properties?

Definitely need to bite the bullet and do it and I guess hiding paperwork would be kind of illegal. Am in a bad place however feeling very anxious and kind of alone and could not face a massive showdown with h .

Feel very let down and hurt .

(Which is probably something he is banking on).

I didnt know you could only register interest in one, although a lawyer could advise about that.

I would suggest that before you register on your house you get as much information as you can about the other properties that he owns. Then if he does try and asset dump you have proof that he owned them. The court will then ask him to show what he did with them, where the money is etc, so he cant just pretend he never had them.

Get a free appointment with a solicitor.

And yes, the envelope from Land Registry is very obvious.