putting kids names on house deeds under 18

[mccarthyl1]

i want to add my children's names to my house deeds but they are under 18. what do i need to do. IF i can add them does it mean that they will own a share of my house

[NORMANTHEDOG]

you cant put them on if they are under 18,and if you have a mortgage on it the mortgage company would not let you put them on until the mortgage is paid up.

[dzug]

If you could add them, yes they would own a share of the house. Thats what 'putting names on the deeds' means - it means giving away ownership

[Buenchico]

If you've got a mortgage, you won't be able to add your children's names to the deeds without the permission of the lender. The property represents their security for the loan and you can't give parts of it away without their permission.

Minors can own property but you'd need to consult a solicitor to ensure that the transfer was carried out properly.

However, I can't think of any sensible reason to do such a thing. If you want to ensure that your children get the house after you die, it would be simpler to make a will. If you're trying to avoid inheritance tax, any gift of part (or all) of the house to your children would be regarded as a 'gift with reservation' if you continued to live there, so you'd fail to escape IHT.

Chris