House not in joint names

I was in the same position as you many years ago and to protect myself I became a tenant in common which meant he couldn't do anything with the house without my say so. Later we changed it to joint names and mad our wills leaving the house to each other.

Just as Myym said above if your name is not on the mortgage or deeds you need to get a declaration of trust from your solicitor. It costs around £250 and stands up in court. Please do not rely on wills as they can be changed easily! A lot of mortgage providers will not allow you to go on the deeds if you are not on the mortgage so the declaration of trust means the owner gives a portion to you, this could be 50/50 or whatever your contributions to the mortgage or deposit were originally, it’s up to you but make sure you are covered Dottygran.

I would make an appointment to see a solicitor asap.

It isn't expensive to either have your name added to the Deeds, make a Will or have a Declaration of Trust drawn up stating that you have a financial interest in the house.

Both you and your husband can decide what happens to your own percentage be it 50/50 (or however you decide to split it between you) then you can each decide what happens in the event of deaths of either one of you or if you were both to meet with an accident at the same time.

I have just completed this process last week.

I struggle to understand why you would ask a question of this importance on a site like this. Go see a solicitor.

Not that I know of, but wills can be changed and you would not necessarily know if your DH did do that. Much better to have the house in joint names. Preferably the joint ownership because that means that if your DH predeceases you the whole house automatically becomes yours.

However if you both have children and grandchildren from your first marriages it will be better to be tenants in common. That means you both own half the house and can pass the value of that on to your children.

If you predeceased your husband and it is held in joint ownership, he owns all the house and can leave it all to his family (or next wife) with your children cut out.

If you are tenants in common. The will usually gives the surviving spouse a lifetime interest in the half they do not own so that they can continue living in the hosue and it cannot be sold until they also die.

I can only reiterate that you really need to consult a solicitor with your DH and make sure that your ownership of your property and your wills are sorted and clear so that on both deaths money and property gets distributed as you both want it, relying on things just sorting out is the highway to disaster.

Thanks Nannarose, you have answered my question as I typed it. Yes, we are a blended family so our ensuring that our will is up to date is crucial

Sorry M0nica, didn't see your reply - duh

Thanks so much, I will update the will. Just one more question if I could please, I keep seeing the terms joint owners and tenants in common, but I don't know the difference

I agree with M0nica.
It is fairly simple to contact the Land Registry, and change the entry to joint names, but you do need to decide whether you are tenants in common (both of you own all the house together and either inherits on the death of the other) or joint tenants (each of you owns half the house and you can do what you like with your own half)
There is more about this on gov.uk, and it makes sense to read it and think about it before going to a solicitor.
It also makes sense to make wills anyway, and if either of you have children from the first marriage, you need to think about inheritance issues.

Thank you FF, for your prompt and helpful reply.

Sorry, should have been clearer. The deeds are in his name. Yes, we have a will but it needs updating now as we have DGC, so as long as it is specified in the will that the house reverts to me there are no issues?

Are the deeds in joint names?
The mortgage is irrelevant except it makes me think the deeds are still in his name.
Does he have a will, although wills can be changed.
If he dies intestate as said above rules of intestacy apply.

One thing I can tell you if he dies before me ........ Surely the house will come to me as next of kin The answer to that question is 'No, not necessarily'.

It all depends on on a variety of factors. Are both your names on the deeds? Are you registered as the owner of the house with your DH? If so is it as joint owners or tenants in common? What is the total value of your joint and individual estates?

Have you made wills? if you haven't the rules of intestacy can mean that everything does not come to you.

The best thing you can do is talk to a solicitor or CAB (Consumers Advice) and make a will. Whether the mortgage was in joint names is irrelevant.