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How do I remove my ex-wife from my house deeds?

My wife and I have divorced and finally reached a financial settlement which includes me paying her off a share of our home.  How do I remove her name from the house deeds?

If as a result of the financial settlement you have remortgaged the property to help raise the money to pay your ex-wife her share of the home, then the position is relatively simple, as during the process of remortgaging, the property will be transferred from your joint names into your sole name.

The former joint mortgage will be repaid out of your new mortgage funds and the property ending up in your sole name with your ex-wife being released from her obligations under the existing mortgage.

It is essential that if you are paying, in addition to repayment of your joint mortgage, an additional capital sum to your ex-wife, that the consideration shown in the Transfer into your sole name is the total of the capital amount payable to your ex-wife plus her one half share of the existing mortgage debt, which you are, effectively, absorbing. However, if there is no additional capital payment to be made and you are simply absorbing the existing joint mortgage, then this could be dealt with by way of a Transfer of Equity into your sole name.

Where are the deeds to my house?

I bought a house about 10 years ago and I have been having a bit of a clear out of all my documents and I cannot find any deeds to the house.  In fact, I don’t ever remember seeing any?

The Title to your property is likely to be registered at HM Land Registry. The Registry no longer issues formal documents as the information is kept on an electronic register with each property having its own Title Number. Following completion, therefore, owners are now issued with a Title Information Document – a snap-shot of the electronic register at the precise time on which the electronic copy is printed. This is effectively the main Title Document.

If there are mortgages registered against the Title, or documents affecting the Title which contain covenants, or restrictions, then copies of these documents are often retained at the Land Registry and their existence mentioned on the register. If you have a mortgage on the property the lenders only now retain the Title Information Document and the original Mortgage Document leaving you to retain possession of all pre-registration Deeds and Documents and other guarantees and documents relating to the property.

Your solicitor will have returned the Title Information Document and Mortgage Deed to the lender and may well have retained the balance of these other documents, either on file, or in safe custody, at their offices. Alternatively, the solicitors will have sent the balance of these documents to you to keep, and it is imperative you know where these are as the guarantees, planning permissions etc will need to be handed over in the event of resale.  If they have been mislaid or their whereabouts unknown then you will have to pay for copies or duplicates.

Is the fence mine or my neighbours?

I have just moved into a new property, but how do I know if a fence is mine or the neighbours? I’ve looked among the title deeds and there is nothing obvious marked on any conveyancing plans.

The majority of properties do not actually have the ownership of boundaries designated. It is also a myth, contrary to some belief, that it is not always the left or right hand boundary that belongs to the property. The ownership will usually be shown on the original Conveyance, Lease or Transfer plan by inward ‘T-marks’. These will depend on where the development starts, and the property on the end can often be responsible for all the boundaries. If you back on to nothing then the rear boundary will always be yours.

If a property is split into two, the responsibility for maintaining and repairing the new dividing boundary will usually be allocated to the owner of the property being sold off as this is determined by the person selling off that part. In the event of there being no plan which identifies the ownership of boundaries, as in the majority of cases, then the boundaries separating each property are deemed to be shared or “party” boundaries. Those boundaries which do not adjoin another property (such as the rear boundary backing on to a lane or the front low wall of a terraced property) will always be the responsibility of that property.

My father held leasehold interest but my mother held freehold interest – what happens now?

My mother has recently died.  She was the owner of the freehold interest in the property but on receipt of the Title Deeds we note that the original leasehold interest remains in the sole name of my late father who died 10 years ago.  What do we need to do?

South Wales has a number of properties that were originally leasehold but as the years have passed occupiers have purchased the freehold interest.

It is often the case that on acquiring the freehold the freehold title will be registered separately to avoid having to merge the two interests and pay a higher Land Registry fee. This gives rise to potential difficulties if the property was originally in the sole name of one only of the spouses.

In this case that spouse has since died and the surviving spouse has purchased the freehold interest in her sole name. This leaves the freehold interest in the wife’s name and the leasehold interest in the late husband’s name.

A Grant of Representation will be required for each Estate in order to properly deal with the interests in the property that the respective spouses owned. This will deal with the deceased husband’s leasehold interest in the property. It will not take too long, but will inevitably delay any on-going sale.

It may be that the executors of each spouse’s Will may be the same and accordingly a Grant of Representation to each Estate can be obtained by the same individual.

* Emyr Pierce is Managing Director 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

Can I sell house without wife’s knowledge?

My marriage has broken down after 21 years and have two children aged 17 and 20 who both still live at home. I have paid the mortgage and all the household bills for those 21 years and mine is the only name on the Title Deeds. Can I sell the house without my wife’s permission?

If you and your wife have separated or your marriage has broken down then, unless you have reached a specific agreement between yourselves, all assets owned by you individually and jointly are technically in dispute.

It would therefore be inappropriate or unadvisable for you to attempt to sell the property without your wife’s consent as you would only be making matters substantially worse, particularly if your adult children continue to live with you at home.

This does not, of course, take into account in any way the alternative accommodation which you and your adult children will require. It is quite possible that your wife’s lawyers may well have registered a Restriction on the Register of your title which will prevent any dealing with the property without your wife’s knowledge.

There is nothing to be gained by trying to dispose of the asset without your wife’s knowledge as you are technically on notice that it forms part of the matrimonial property which is in dispute.

Deceased dad still named on leasehold interest

My mother has recently died. She was the owner of the freehold interest in the property but on receipt of the Title Deeds we note that the original leasehold interest remains in the sole name of my late father who died 10 years ago. What do we need to do?

South Wales has a number of properties that were originally leasehold but as the years have passed occupiers have purchased the freehold interest. It is often the case that on acquiring the freehold the freehold title will be registered separately to avoid having to merge the two interests and pay a higher Land Registry fee. This gives rise to potential difficulties if the property was originally in the sole name of one only of the spouses.

In this case that spouse has since died and the surviving spouse has purchased the freehold interest in her sole name. This leaves the freehold interest in the wife’s name and the leasehold interest in the late husband’s name.

A Grant of Representation will be required for each Estate in order to properly deal with the interests in the property that the respective spouses owned. This will deal with the deceased husband’s leasehold interest in the property. It will not take too long, but will inevitably delay any ongoing sale.

Rear access lane used as a dumping ground

I live in a terraced row of Victorian houses at the back of which is a lane into which we all have doors leading from our back gardens. The lane is being used as a dumping ground. How do I find out who the lane belongs to? The Local Authority says the lane is not their responsibility.

The majority of those lanes are maintained by the Local Authority as part of the adopted highway. However, there are certain instances where these lanes remain private or indeed the ownership of which is unknown.

As with any piece of land in which you are anxious to establish ownership the first step is to make an Index Map Search of the Land Registry. This requires the submission of a plan identifying the lane. The result of this search will clarify whether the title to the land is registered or unregistered. If it is registered title then finding the identity of its owner is simple – obtain an Office Copy of that title, which will specify the name of the proprietor.

If the search reveals the property is unregistered then the problem is very much greater. You could inspect your Title Deeds in order to establish whether yours and the adjoining properties were originally part of an Estate as it is quite probable that the Estate remains entitled to the lane with each property having been sold off with, probably, rights of access from the rear gardens over the same.

If the lane is overgrown then those backing onto the lane should consider the possibility that they could be called upon to contribute towards its maintenance and repair.

How to sell home without an Estate Agent

We have sold our house in Newport without using an Estate Agent to somebody we know. What are the next steps? I know that our buyer needs to instruct a solicitor and have a survey done for his mortgage lender, and we need to instruct a solicitor. Is there anything else to be done at this stage?

You need to find an experienced and reputable lawyer to act on your behalf, and often personal recommendation is advisable. Request quotes from various law firms but remember that conveyancing is also a specialist area. Those solicitors with a good reputation in the property field will be structured and geared to drive your transaction forward as soon as possible and at the most competitive price.

If you are in possession of your Title Deeds you will need to supply these to your solicitor to enable him or her to issue draft contract papers. You will also need to complete property information forms and a list of fixtures and fittings detailing items included or available for sale in addition to the purchase price.

It is essential you instruct your lawyers promptly to avoid delay as the buyer’s solicitor is unable to do anything until he is in receipt of draft contract papers. In fact, it is arguable that you should consider your preferred lawyer before your property is sold. He may be able to provide you with impartial and crucial advice before the process starts.

Above all else, be aware of recommendation by third parties based on a referral fee being received as this does not always represent the best advice in view of the financial incentives involved for the referrer.

At a loss at lost Title Deeds

We have lost the Title Deeds to our house. Where would we get duplicates from and how much would this cost?

The loss of Title Deeds is not as much of a problem these days as it used to be. This will, however, depend entirely on whether or not the title to your property is registered.

For example, in the Cardiff area all dealings involving properties since 1974 would have resulted in the need for compulsory registration of that property and if your property has changed ownership since 1974 then the title to it will now be registered.

The appropriate registration number can easily be obtained from the Land Registry by carrying out a search of the Property Index. This is done by inputting the postcode of the property and then identifying the appropriate title. You can then request office copies of that particular title number electronically at a cost of between £10 and £15 depending on whether or not you have an account with the Land Registry.

All property lawyers have accounts with the Land Registry either direct or through their Property Service Providers, and office copy entries can often be obtained at a reduced cost as a result of these arrangements, whereas members of the general public would pay slightly more for this service if requesting copies direct themselves.

The electronic copy of the Register is a snapshot of that Register at the date and time (to the second) that it is supplied. This facility enables solicitors to make up to date searches of the Registers immediately prior to purchases being completed to ensure that there are no last minute entries on the Register which would prejudice a would-be purchaser.

If the property is unregistered then the problem is far greater. This would require a reconstitution of the title which in turn would require Statutory Declarations by way of evidence from the owners and possibly predecessors in title detailing their length of ownership etc and also detailing how the documents had been mislaid.

In such cases the Land Registry would normally only provide a “Possessory Title” unless ownership can be proved beyond any reasonable doubt. If your title is unregistered and you have mislaid the Title Deeds to your property then you must contact a solicitor immediately as this is extremely urgent.