Solicitor insisting stamp duty is due on property transfer between spouses as part of divorce

SarahF77

I'll try to make a long story short :) I am divorced approx. 18 months and as part of divorce agreement we agreed to sell the family home (I had a very unhelpful, difficult solicitor who also separately withheld a large inheritance from me for over a year until divorce was finalised and some months after, and even then it was like getting blood from a stone, I'm sure she made some interest on my money). My divorce fees were €25k, despite her quoting €15k, when I queried this she said it was complicated case, it wasn't particularly, and my ex solicitor charged 12k for the same divorce). Anyway, her husband and partner is now handling a transfer of equity for the family home as my ex and I mutually agreed that moving house was not a good idea, prices were rising, I couldn't find anything suitable, kept being outbid and our teenagers have a LC and JC this year. This was mutually agreed, my ex has put this in writing, and the bank have approved me for the remaining mortgage. My question is, the solicitor told me that as this transfer was not part of the actual divorce order, that I will have to pay stamp duty of approx. €4k, on top of his fees of €2k. Transfers relating to divorce/separation are exempt from stamp duty (under section 97 SDCA 1999). When i researched this at length, it seems that although the original plan (sale) has been mutually amended, within the context of the overall terms of our divorce, that I should still be exempt from this stamp duty. He is now saying that I will either have to pay the duty, OR go back to court (with his partner/wife acting for me - another 5k fees) to have the agreement officially updated to reflect the transfer rather than sale…….any advice? Am I being paranoid that solicitor is just trying to get more money out of me? This firm handled my parents probate, parents house sale and my divorce (which also included the sale of a rental property) ……….I've paid them about 60k in fees over 3 years, for a slow, incompetent, often arrogant service, and now I don't trust them…….

Peregrinus

Hi doesn't benefit by advising you that you need to pay stamp duty, even if the advice is wrong. So I think you can put fraudulent conspiracy out of your mind.

Still, clearly you have no confidence in the guy. You're second-guessing the advice he gives; why would you pay for advice that you feel you have to second-guess? Even if it costs you some money - and it will - I think you should seek another opinion on the stamp duty liablity issue, and if there is any more business in hand consider transferring your affairs generally to the new solicitor.

divillybit

So you are buying out your ex wife's interest in the former family home. That's regarded as a voluntary transfer then, so would need to be assessed by revenue. As you're no longer married any exemption that may have applied for transfers between spouses no longer applies so stamp duty would be applicable for the half share of the property