Getting partners name on Mortgage / deeds

shrecc

Getting partners name on Mortage / Deeds

Hi, has anyone got experience and is it difficult to do, I bought a property in my own name last year and as my partner wasn't working we didn't chance putting his name on the mortage incase we got refused we were advised that he could be classed as a financial burden although this isn't the case, he is now working part-time and I'd like to get his name on the deeds and mortage of the property but have been told he'd be liable to pay tax of 4-5K is this correct?? Does anyone know what the process is on getting the ball rolling on this?

D3PO

shrecc wrote: »

Getting partners name on Mortage / Deeds

Hi, has anyone got experience and is it difficult to do, I bought a property in my own name last year and as my partner wasn't working we didn't chance putting his name on the mortage incase we got refused we were advised that he could be classed as a financial burden although this isn't the case, he is now working part-time and I'd like to get his name on the deeds and mortage of the property but have been told he'd be liable to pay tax of 4-5K is this correct?? Does anyone know what the process is on getting the ball rolling on this?

what is your reasoning for wanting to do this ? If its just so your partner feels secure that its both your property don't bother, the civil partnership act will ensure he gets the security he needs in time (or maybe he has got these already depending on how long you have been living together)

there is no point in changing anything and it really makes no difference in the grand scheme of things.

shrecc

How long would we be having to live together for the civil partnership to take affect, we have been living together for 6 years already

D3PO

shrecc wrote: »

How long would we be having to live together for the civil partnership to take affect, we have been living together for 6 years already

Then he already has rights as do you in terms of maintenance, splitting of assets etc should you split.

Theres plenty of detailed info on it on the web. heres a handy snapshot for you.

http://www.citizensinformationboard.ie/publications/relate/relate_2011_02.pdf

joeysoap

We built our house in 1976. Back then it was pretty normal to have only one name on the deeds of house. I am now thinking that the deeds should be in both our names (came up in discussion about making a will etc). AFAIK shortly after we were married the law on succession changed and I could no longer sell the house without her permission, hence the laziness in changing the status quo. We were both happy enough with the situation, but now thinking time to put in order.

Is it just a matter of adding my wife's name to the deeds or is it the whole rigmarole ie solicitors fees, land registry fees, etc etc

If a will were drawn up (I know, I know) detailing exactly how the property and other possessions were to be distributed would this cover the situation without the need to re-register the house in borh our names? Our daughter got married recently and this obviously has implications in the event of a death and no will. (2/3 and 1/3 etc)

D3PO

surely your daughter wouldn't dare look to invoke her 1/3 share against her mother should the unthinkable happen and you passed away !!

To add your wife to the deeds will involve solicitor fees, I wouldn't suggest you went about doing it yourself

Sligo1

I'm pretty sure that succession rights only work 2/3 (in your spouses favour)if you haven't drawn up a will. If you draw a will then ur spouse is at least legally entitled to 1/3 but you can stipulate you want her to have more (ie. If you want her to have everything or 1/2 eg). There is also the option to waive succession rights aswell of course....

camphor

D3PO wrote: »

surely your daughter wouldn't dare look to invoke her 1/3 share against her mother should the unthinkable happen and you passed away !!

It has often happened that widows have had to sell the house because the children will not renounce their share. There is no stamp duty on an assignment between spouses and a solicitor would be able to draw up a deed quickly and at a low cost presuming the property is mortgage free. There will be registration charges as well but it would be no harm to get a quote.
A will can be drawn up leaving the house to the wife but the daughter would be able to bring a section 117 application and mess this up.

Marcusm

camphor wrote: »

It has often happened that widows have had to sell the house because the children will not renounce their share. There is no stamp duty on an assignment between spouses and a solicitor would be able to draw up a deed quickly and at a low cost presuming the property is mortgage free. There will be registration charges as well but it would be no harm to get a quote.
A will can be drawn up leaving the house to the wife but the daughter would be able to bring a section 117 application and mess this up.

If the house is not previously registered at Land Registry (ie if Registry of Deeds) then substantial costs might be incurred as it would be a "first registration".

joeysoap

Thanks everyone for replies.

I would like to think that daughter would not resort to claiming their 1/3 if there was no will, but you never know. daughter has a €300k mortgage on a property worth €200k, so there is always that possability.

Is the house registered, now that is a good question. We purchased a site in the early 70's and registered it in my name. we built in the mid 70's. mortgage was with first active, mortgage cleared early 90's and deeds returned to me, lodged in bank for safekeeping (don't think they do that anymore - at least for free ) I have been informed by a member of bank staff that if I take the deeds out of the bank that the 'arrangement' is over and that I won't be taking them back.

Looks like a trip to solicitor, don't know if stamp duty is applicable in this case, certainly a registration fee of €600 looks likely. A will is definitley order.

Registered or not, they managed to send me a local property tax form last year, so they do have something registered in my name. That long ago I genuinely can't recall. Would First Active not have insisted on registering the property?

Trish56

OP if you had a mortgage on the property it had to be registered in the land registry. Contact your Solicitor and ask how much it will cost to transfer the property into joint name and at the same time make your wills. There should be no tax issues as it is the family home. You could also ring a few Solicitors to get a price as it is a simple enough procedure. Also it will be cheaper to transfer now than pay probate fees if you died as sole owner and as previous posters mentioned even if you had a will it could be contested. Once transferred into joint names your wife will inherit your share on death and vica versa.

joeysoap wrote: »

Thanks everyone for replies.

I would like to think that daughter would not resort to claiming their 1/3 if there was no will, but you never know. daughter has a €300k mortgage on a property worth €200k, so there is always that possability.

Is the house registered, now that is a good question. We purchased a site in the early 70's and registered it in my name. we built in the mid 70's. mortgage was with first active, mortgage cleared early 90's and deeds returned to me, lodged in bank for safekeeping (don't think they do that anymore - at least for free ) I have been informed by a member of bank staff that if I take the deeds out of the bank that the 'arrangement' is over and that I won't be taking them back.

Looks like a trip to solicitor, don't know if stamp duty is applicable in this case, certainly a registration fee of €600 looks likely. A will is definitley order.

Registered or not, they managed to send me a local property tax form last year, so they do have something registered in my name. That long ago I genuinely can't recall. Would First Active not have insisted on registering the property?

camphor

Trish56 wrote: »

OP if you had a mortgage on the property it had to be registered in the land registry. .

Not necessarily. many mortgages are registered in the registry of deeds.

Trish56

camphor wrote: »

Not necessarily. many mortgages are registered in the registry of deeds.

Does it make any difference once the property is registered?

Marcusm

Trish56 wrote: »

Does it make any difference once the property is registered?

Yes, especially in the OP's position. The Registry of Deeds is regarded as a historic relic and thus all new transfers of land mean that the land needs to be transferred to the Land Registry involving a "first registration", effectively a proving of the ownership of the property to the satisfaction of that agency (unless a solicitor wants to take on the risk) so that future transfers can happen more efficiently. In the OP's case, if the land is "Land Registry" already then he will not have to undertake this process which could easily cost €1,000 of professional fees. Also, the first registration will take up to 18 months (again unless the solicitor is going to bear the risk of guaranteeing the title). It's important as he will have to bear the cost - if he was selling, the buyer would have to pick it up.

joeysoap

as far as I can recall the site was registered with land registry. And yes I did have a mortgage on the property. (Can anyone recall those long brown registered envelopes that solicitors used to get in the 70's and 80's?) I can recall having to sign the deeds of the site when I purchased it from the *vendors solicitor (*and my solicitor ). He produced this folded up bundle of paper, few names already on it, and got me to sign it, and if I can recall, said it didn't matter where on the deeds I signed, as long as I signed it. Younger person then and didn't know any solicitor so I just used the vendors solicitor as my one also. Don't suppose it's legal now. This solicitor is absolutely trustworthy and is still practising. Held in high regard. Oddly enough I have not used him since (nor any other solicitor for that matter) but when we occasionally pass on the steet we use first name terms as though we are old friends.

oh oh could be in trouble here: going into PRAI website and clicking on my property produces the following:

Title Level The area selected is not registered with the Land Registry. Information about this property may be available from the Registry of Deeds.

Almost every house around me is the same with the exception of a few that were sold in the past number of years.

and all I want to do is add my wifes name to the deeds.

Marcusm

joeysoap wrote: »

as far as I can recall the site was registered with land registry. And yes I did have a mortgage on the property. (Can anyone recall those long brown registered envelopes that solicitors used to get in the 70's and 80's?) I can recall having to sign the deeds of the site when I purchased it from the *vendors solicitor (*and my solicitor ). He produced this folded up bundle of paper, few names already on it, and got me to sign it, and if I can recall, said it didn't matter where on the deeds I signed, as long as I signed it. Younger person then and didn't know any solicitor so I just used the vendors solicitor as my one also. Don't suppose it's legal now. This solicitor is absolutely trustworthy and is still practising. Held in high regard. Oddly enough I have not used him since (nor any other solicitor for that matter) but when we occasionally pass on the steet we use first name terms as though we are old friends.

oh oh could be in trouble here: going into PRAI website and clicking on my property produces the following:

Title Level The area selected is not registered with the Land Registry. Information about this property may be available from the Registry of Deeds.

Almost every house around me is the same with the exception of a few that were sold in the past number of years.

and all I want to do is add my wifes name to the deeds.

Bundles of papers with lots of signatures already on them is a very strong indication of Registry of Deeds - basically that bundle of papers is the evidence of ownership. With the Land Registry all that is done away with as the evidence is your name on a register and you don't have to worry about losing any paperwork.

joeysoap

Thanks Marcusm. Collected the 'brown' envelope from the bank today. All sealed up with selotape and but I just know that you correct, Registry of Deeds. So visit to solicitor on cards during 2014, probably have to pay registration fees (even though house is only technically changing hands)and solicitors fees. Hopefully no stamp duty as it's not a transaction.

joeysoap

Update : will (s) made and property transferred into both names. Should have done this years ago but there you go.

Cost €300 in total.