Taking my wife's name off the mortgage

[cleggers]

I am hoping to remortgage my house, changing from the Halifax to the Nationwide. The house is currently in joint names but I would like it to be in my name only when I transfer. The Nationwide say they can offer a solicitor service to do this at a fixed fee + registration fees. Is this a simple matter of my wife signing a form to consent to this change or, assuming I use the Nationwide solicitor, will the process have to go through another solicitor representing my wife. My wife has verbally consented to this and is willing to sign a form but neither of us want to get a second solicitor involved.

[Maud]

Could you please clarify what you wish to do 1. the property - that is to say your Land Certificate - is in both names, presumably your wife and yourself in joint tenancy. That is how it should be, why do you wish to change? 2. the mortgage can be in your name alone, the joint names in the Land Certificate do not have to be changed - it does not affect the Nationwide in any way at all. You and your wife can, in fact, change the Land Certificate yourselves without any solicitors, it is simple DIY form filling, but the Revenue have to be notified and they regard this as a gift from your wife to you and it falls under the 7 year IHT rule. I wonder if somebody has muddled it up a bit for you?

[cleggers]

In response to Maud's reply. 1.My wife and I are seperated but she doesn't want any financial (or other) concern in the property. Call it a 'new start' from my way of looking at it. Yes, it is joint tenancy. 2.Yes I am confused. I am still awaiting a reply from the Nationwide but as I understand it (probably incorrectly) the fees being charged by the Nationwide are to put the mortgage in my name and change the name on the land registry ! I think my confusion lies from what the Halifax advisor told me in that, if I was to change the mortgage I would be charged a fee by them + I would have to get my own solicitor to do the legal work. He also told me that my wife too would have to appoint a solicitor. From what I have researched so far, the solicitor's 'job' in all this is simply to change the name on the land registry ! Regarding the inland revenue, what actually are the tax implications if this 'change' is reported as a 'gift' to me. Is it treated as additional income, is it based on half the loan amount or half the market value of the house ? Also, what is the '7 year IHT rule' ? Can remortgaging and taking somebodys name off a mortgage at the same time be complicated !

[Maud]

1. There are no liabilities as such in a joint tenancy. The property is held in 50/50 theoretical (not actual) shares, and upon a death the property passes automatically and simply to the survivor without wills, probate, inheritance tax, etc. 2. Presumably you have an accepted offer from Nationwide, and if part of funds are to pay off Halifax they will make the arrangements direct between themselves and not through you. You have to agree the wind-up figure of Halifax - balance of mortgage + early redemption fee. If Nationwide are to charge for the service they should tell you the amount and agree it with you. There should be no other involvement, and there should be no appointment of solicitors (unless, of course, you need someone to explain the terms of the Nationwide mortgage to you. Since starting this I have been called away. To save typing it again I will post this bit and then complete around 8.30pm.

[Maud]

3. Any name change is quite independent of Nationwide/Halifax. It can be done now or at anytime by going to www.landregistry.gov.uk then Forms/Publications then Forms from the drop down menu and printing off Forms TR 1 and AP 1. When you have perused these if you still feel confident to DIY I will discuss how to fill them in and the further actions you need to take. All quite simple. If you post the value of your property and the amount of mortgage I will calculate the LR fee. 4. If your wife dies within 7 years of making the gift 50% of the value of the property is added to her estate and all above �263000 is taxed. However, the tax on the gift is on a reducing scale, first 3 years at the full amount and less for the last 4. 5. It may be of interest to mention also that despite the gift there is a very simple way for your wife to block the sale of the property until any claim that she may later formulate has been settled.

[Maud]

......"block the later sale".....

[cleggers]

Thanks. OK As I now understand it, there is no need to get the Nationwide solicitor involved to 'get the mortgage in my name'. Part of the mortgage deal (a 2 year tracker mortgage) I am going for 'includes legal fees'.So I understand these legal fees actually mean the paperwork for transferring the mortgage from the Halifax to the Nationwide (and nothing to do with changing the name on the land registry) The 'new' mortgage being in my name only. Is it advisable for me to make the change on the land registry before I switch the mortgage or is this irrelevant to the purpose. I noticed on the land registry for my property (which I downloaded from the landregistry site) that the 'Halifax PLC' are mentioned on it. I presume the Nationwide's 'included legal fees' will change this as part of the transfer. I have downloaded and printed forms AP1 and TR1 and would like to have a go at DIY. Your help in filling them (and any further actions) would be most appreciated. The estimated market value of the property is �175,000 and the mortgage will be �50,000 (as I write, it is �65,000 but I intend to pay off �15,000 before I switch to the Nationwide). Another question which has come to mind, when the Nationwide transfer the mortgage (from the Halifax) will my wife have to sign any forms to relinquish her 'share' of the mortgage. This isn't a problem but I want to know as much about the procedure as I possibly can.

[Maud]

To clear the name change and building societies out of the way first before we conclude with the forms. 1.The name change and the mortgage are two entirely separate things, there is no link between them. You can change at any time. There is no liability on the part of your wife. The only thing is that whilst the joint tenancy exists if you are called to the hereafter the property automatically goes to your wife (and vice versa) and contrary wills, challenges etc cannot alter this. 2 The Halifax "legals" are childish simplicity - once the �65000 has been cleared to them they send a very simple form to the LR removing their name (the charge) from your Certificate. That is all, no forms for you or your wife or anything. Nationwide should co-ordinate this - see below. 3. If you wish to take advantage of the Nationwide deal asap just change in joint names. The LR do name changes now in days rather than the previous weeks, but if you hit a snag whilst they will guide you through it can revert to weeks. If you change in joint names then your wife will have to sign the Nationwide forms. 4.The Nationwide legal fees should include everything except the name change but including receiving your �15,000 and combining with their �50,000 so that only one final cheque is sent to Halifax. Without going into the rigmarole two cheques can cause a problem. 5. Nationwide should also,importantly, co-ordinate the removal of the Halifax charge from your Certificate and and the submission of the LR Form for the entry of their own. It is important that they do this,

[Maud]

Another typo....... In 3.. your wife will not have to sign the Nationwide forms (as the Nationwide mortgage is in your name only your wife will not figure in that mortgage at all. The Land Certificate can still be a joint tenancy without affecting this).

[cleggers]

One snag here. The Halifax have said to me that if you want to change the mortgage to a single name they will charge a compulsory fee of �160 and they insist that a solicitor carries this out on my behalf (adding to the cost). For such a simple procedure ('childish simplicity') I feel even stronger now to avoid this if I possibly can. I was intending to give the Halifax my 15K cheque tomorrow (I have an appointment with them), wait till this had cleared and then give the go ahead to the Nationwide (perhaps the end of next week).If I did it this way, the Halifax would remove their name (the charge) from my certificate upon receipt of the 50K from the Nationwide and, as part of the Nationwide's 'inclusive' legal fee, the Nationwide should add their name to my certificate. Have I got it right ? I would really prefer to have the Nationwide mortgage in my name only. I am not in a great rush to change to the Nationwide. Bearing in mind that the names on the property are totally separate from the names on the mortgage, is it then not a simple process for the Nationwide to carry out the transfer so that I can commence my 'new' mortgage with them. From our correspondence I can then change the names on the land registry at my own leisure without getting the Nationwide involved at all ? However the Nationwide are still talking about a �195 + VAT + 'additional registration fees' for 'additional (legal) services such as registering a name change. Do I have any choice in the matter. What you are saying is perfectly clear, it is the two banks that are confusing me !

[Maud]

It is just that you have started off in the wrong shop. The Bldg Soc solicitors have told you that they cannot represent you because they are obliged to do the best they can for the Bldg Soc which might take unfair advantage of you. Therefore under the Rules of Professional Conduct for Solicitors they are obliged to tell you that if you go down that road you must appoint your own solicitor to counterbalance them, and, as you are seperated, your wife must do the same. But you do not have to go down that road.

[lesleykateal]

i having been trying to get my head around the same problem. my husband left over two years ago and wants nothing to do with financially or anything else house children etc. he has sighned the bank forms in order for me to transfer the mortgage to me. i want to go ahead with this but more importantly i want to have his name taken of the deeds. he has also agreed to this. i can't afford to use a solicitor but i need to make sure that is i do it myself it will be legal and above board. also (please answer in simple language that even i can understand)what should i do first and is ther anyone out there who can give me step by step instructions.

[Maud]

You were lucky that it is a wet Sunday evening and I was passing time before bed flicking through this site and looking at old questions!! I can tell you how to do it, but not here. If you put up a new heading Maud at the top of the Money section and ask the question "How do I change names on the deeds" I will respond.

[cleggers]

Hello again Maud. 15K has now been paid off my Halifax mortgage and I have spoken to the Nationwide today about transferring the mortgage. It appears I have no choice to pay their �195 + VAT + 'additional registration fees' charge. OK I'll do this if it means getting things moving. I have one final, and very important question; am I going to find myself having to involve a solicitor for myself; and my wife, a solicitor for herself or will it be just a question of signing forms agreeing to her consent.

[Maud]

No. For the name change there are only 3 forms to sign - AP 1, TR 1 and the Revenue notification. Your wife has to sign TR 1 "as a deed", and depending upon what is entered upon it both of you may have to. Do not worry about this, I will explain if you like but it is hardly worth the typing (in the jargon your wife is the "transferor" and you are the "transferee"). The signature(s) on TR 1 require an independent witness. Your wife signs the Revenue notification because she is the one making the gift. There are no other forms to sign regarding the name change.

[cleggers]

Thanks for your help.

[cleggers]

Hello again Maud, Just had a scary thought. Will I have to pay stamp duty when remortgaging (and changing to my name only) to the Nationwide. The loan will be 50K but the market value of the property is approx 175K.

[benjaminabi]

dear/sir /madam

my wife left me 13 mounths ago and left me with 2 children .and the hoise ,how and can i get her name removed from mortgage deeds ect ?

thank you

[granjero]

my wife and i are going through the throws of changing our mortgage provider because our current one will not do any new buisness so basicly we cant borrow any more from them ,we are changing to the halifax but because of previous credit problems my wife is putting the mortgage in her name only ,does this mean i have to take my name off the ownership of the house ?