stamp duty - transfer of equity

[cleggers]

I had been in correspondence with Maud (ref. Taking my wife's name off the mortgage) and I would like to continue as I have come up against unexpected problems. 1.Does a transfer of equity mean that stamp duty is charged as part of the transaction when taking a name off the property/mortgage (i.e. from joint names to my name only) ? If so how is it calculated ? I have told the solicitor that my wife doesn't want any payment (in writing with her consent/signature) in the transfer of equity transaction. My solicitor is saying that she still has to contact a solicitor whether she wants or doesn't want a payment. Can this be true ?

[Hgrove]

I am not Maud, but in the meantime I believe the reason why your wife needs proper legal advice from her own solicitor is to prevent any likelyhood of future claims that she signed "under duress". If you can show that she had her own solicitor advising her, it's unlikely that any claim could ever arise. Your solicitor is covering himself. I don't know the answer to the first question and look forward to Maud's reply. My own guess would be that stamp duty will be payable on half of the "purchase price" but don't take my word for it - wait for Maud.

[Oneeyedvic]

Yes the second part is probably true. Our company always insists that the partner gets seperate legal advice for the reason given by Hgrove - protection in case of being sued later. Unfortunately, if your wife were to say later that she did not understand what she was signing, or that you forced her to sign them, she could have a case against the new lender. I am also not sure about the stamp duty issue - I am sure that I read somewhere that this was payable but I am also sure thtat Maud has previously said that if you gift it it is not payable. If it is apayable it will be 1% of the sale price if the property is under �250,000.

[Maud]

Hello, cleggers. (1) As no money is changing hands there is no Stamp Duty to pay. There is a box on TR1 and the Revenue form for your solicitor to make a very simple declaration. (2)There is no other tax of any sort to pay beyond VAT on your solicitors account. (3) The only Govt fee to pay is the LR fee, which on the figures you gave me is �40 (4) There is no necessity or requirement that your wife employs a solicitor. If you are using the Nationwide solicitor instruct that the forms be sent to her with a pencil cross indicating where signatures are required. A paragraph in the enclosing letter can say "we recommend that you obtain legal advice before signing" but action upon that is optional and can be ignored. Remember that your wifes signature must be witnessed by someone other than yourself, and that the witness is evidence that it was freely given and not under duress. Your wife can employ a solicitor to witness her signature, around here the charge is �5. (5) However, if you yourself have employed a solicitor other than Nationwide, it is up to you whether you follow the advice that you are paying for (6) The term "transfer of equity" is a completely wrong description of what you are both doing. The mortgage is a liability, and removing your wife from it beneficially relieves her of debt. A joint tenancy is basically a gamble on survivorship, nothing more, and not wishing to gamble further is just that, nothing more. Neither is a "transfer of equity".