House deeds

[litletroll]

I got divorced over 10 years ago, and my ex kept the house, and I din't get a penny, but my name is still on the deeds, will I be able to claim anything if the house gets sold or if he dies before me

[dzug]

What do you mean by 'my name is still on the deeds'? If you mean there are some old house deeds with your name on them, there are irrelevant - what matters is the Land Registry record of ownership. If you are still recorded there as part owner then:

the house cannot be sold without your signature. In the absence of any agreement to the contrary (was there a formal divorce settlement?) you should get half.

if he dies before you you will either get half or the lot depending on the type of ownership you have.

[litletroll]

I am still recorded on the land registry as part owner, and we had no formal divorce settlement re the house or anything else

[Golden Shred]

If you would like to say specifically how you are Registered at the Land Registry there may be a little more information that can be added to be of assistance to you. Are you (a) a joint tenant or (b) a tenant in common?

[litletroll]

Could you please explain what you mean by a joint tenant and tenant in common

[lady_p_gold]

Did you not have any legal advice for the divorce ? You are probably a joint tenant (which is more common) which means that you both own all of the house as opposed to tenants in common which means that each of you owns a specific percentage of the property (often 50% each). To answer your original question yes you would be entitled to either ask for him to buy you out, or decide to sell the property and divide the proceeds either amicably or through a lawyer, or if he dies it would automatically be your property. That is how I see it.

[spacechimp]

I wouldn't advise hastening his death in order to get the property though, I've heard there are laws which prohibit this.

[Golden Shred]

So that I can provide an answer that may be of some specific use to you, would you please click this link and follow the instructions to see the Register. The Register will state whether you are a joint tenant or a tenant in common. It costs �2. If you would then care to post the answer here I will be happy to continue.

[yodamonks]

hi I took a mortgage out years ago with my ex and 3 years after we split decided to go for some money as he had kept the house. when my solicitor investigated it turned out my ex had somehow removed me from the mortgage before it had been finalised and so therefore unknown to me i had never had any part of the mortgage(don't ask me how!) Anyway i had a good solicitor and they said because i had lived there and could prove it they would try and claim. unfortunately he had paid all the mortgage and i had only paid the bills and shopping costs. well eventually after a couple of years and the only evidence i had were bank statements proving my address and the fact i had paid over half towards running costs of the house they made him sell his house and gave me half of the money. so it goes to show that you probably have alot of claim on the house in question if i managed to get what i did.