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Adding spouse’s name to Property Deeds

I have recently married and would like to add my spouse’s name to the Property Deed of a house I currently own solely. The mortgage is paid, so I would like us to be Joint Owners. Can I do this?

You can transfer a property into joint names by way of a gift at any stage, particularly if the property is mortgage free. The transfer into joint names will be in consideration of your love and affection for your new wife and will represent a “lifetime gift”.

It is a relatively straightforward process and can be completed very quickly and at a relatively nominal cost provided your Title is already registered. If you have an unregistered Title, such a Deed of Gift will give rise to a compulsory first registration at The Land Registry with the Land Registry Fee payable based on the value of the property.

You will need to decide as to the manner in which you own the property jointly; either as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common. Should you choose to own the property as Joint Tenants then the survivor of you will automatically become sole owner regardless of any Will. If you elect to own as Tenants in Common in equal shares then your respective half interests in the property will be available for each of you to bequeath by way of Will on your deaths.

Your solicitor will be able to advise you on all of these aspects.

House gift could be overturned by insolvency

My husband gifted me his share of our house three years ago but now he has major debt problems and I have heard that the transfer of the property into my sole name could be overturned. Is this true?

Sadly, you are right. Under the current Insolvency laws, if the person making the gift becomes bankrupt within five years of the date of the gift then the bankrupt’s Trustee in Bankruptcy can claim that the transaction was an attempt to defraud creditors and declare the transfer to be void.

This will have serious implications for you as the property will then be regarded as remaining in your husband’s sole name and will be available for the Trustee in Bankruptcy to force a sale to pay your husband’s creditors.

You will have certain rights of occupation as the spouse of the bankrupt but you may be forced to buy the property off your husband’s Trustee in Bankruptcy to preserve your right to live at the property.

In the case of a Deed of Gift it is always prudent to obtain a Declaration of Solvency from the Donor (the person making the gift) and also taking out a Deed of Gift Indemnity Policy to protect the Donee (the person receiving the gift) against the possibility of a claim being made against the property by a Trustee in Bankruptcy within five years of the gift.

* Emyr Pierce is Managing Partner of Emyr Pierce Solicitors in Rhiwbina, Cardiff, Western Mail Conveyancer of the Year, specialising in Domestic and Commercial Property. Contact www.emyrpierce.co.uk or email law@emyrpierce.co.uk