Mortgage in my name

[Rodney1972]

Iam buying a new house & I will have the mortgage in my name & not joint with my wife as I'm younger than her so I can have the mortgage longer.she is worried if we were to divorce in later years would she be given half of the property or do we need to do some sort of agreement,if yes how? I will do a will so if I die she will get the house but not sure about divorce? Would welcome some feedback on this matter....cheers.

[ummmm]

You'll need to see a solicitor to draw up some sort of contract.

[factor-fiction]

I don't understand why her name can't go on the mortgage. It's a shame you want to plan for a possible divorce but I suppose that prenuptial agreements are fairly common nowadays so maybe it is a wise precaution.

[ladybirder]

Could be because of the stricter rules now. Perhaps if they want a 25-year mortgage and his wife would arrive at retirement age after 20 years then to get that particular mortgage at that particular rate from that particular bank they wouldn't get it if his wife's name was on it. Just one scenario.

[Hastler]

Hi Rodney

I do not think any mortgage provider will give a mortgage in one person's name if the property is jointly owned.
Also I do not think it is wise for just a husband or wife to be a registered owner in case there are problems later on.
I had a situation where my husband owned a small house and I had sold my flat just before we were married.
As we intended to only be in the house for a few months the solicitor said is would be cheaper to register a charge under the married woman's property act to protect my interest. As it happens we were in that house for nearly 4 years.

[ummmm]

It won't be a jointly owned property. That's the point of the question.

[tonywiltshire]

Your wife will have some rights over the matrimonial home under the family law act 1996. It is often said by people who should know better that pre-nuptial agreements are of no value as they are not legally binding, which is a crude over simplification, which has been reflected by some recent court decisions, they are of value but must be correctly drawn up, and will probably be taken into account, but perhaps not slavishly. As long ago as 1997 both Mr Justice Cazalet & Wilson said pre-nuptial agreements could not be ignored.