Adding a spouse to mortgage/house deed

[Prana]

I have a question for any mortgage/house smart people. I bought my house a few years ago, and my FI and I weren''t engaged at the time, so I am the sole owner/mortgagee (whatever...) on the property. I want to add my FI name to the mortgage or the deed, but I''m not really sure how to go about doing this. I want him to have 50/50 ownership in case something happens to me, so that he owns our house. I also want him to have the same credit benefits that come from owning a house. I''ve emailed my mortgage broker, but it''s late and I don''t expect him to reply until tomorrow. Can anybody steer me in the right direction? Thanks!!!

FWIW, I live in CT.

 

[movie zombie]

i did this once.......and then my property that i bought on my own as a single woman was community property and became part of a divorce settlement.

i applaud the idea of doing it as i had the emotional commitment and desire to share all with my spouse and it seemed as if the marriage was in for a win so i made it an anniversary present to him. however, it obviously didn't work out and i wouldn't do it again.

i would explore other ways of leaving it to him that would give him peace of mind and minimal tax exposure if inherited.

mz

ps i've reread your original post and note that this is your FI. if you really must do this, wait until you're married. as long as you are both single, you will be in possession of the house as girlface, a single woman, and boyface, a single man on the deed. there will be no tax benefit for him unless you can change the deed to girlface, a married woman, and boyface, a married man. however, you will not be able to add him to the mortgage [and therefore to the deed as you do not own the home 100%] w/o the permission of the bank/loan group who can deny him....and be aware that this will now be a refinance.....a new loan application with his info will need to be filled out and perhaps even loan fees. please look into this with a real estate attorney as there is really a lot at stake here.....and a mortgage broker is not the same as a real estate attorney. and if you're in california, i wouldn't do it all: an original loan has certain protections on one's loan for an owner occupied residence that are not there on a refi on that same residential home.

 

[Hera]

I believe you'll want to add him to the deed rather than to the mortgage. This would give him rights without having to go through the bank. I think the form is a grant deed but I could be mistaken.

 

[tyty333]

Not an expert but I think you have do something called a quit claim deed to sign over part of the house. As far as getting him on the
mortgage I think that you would have to refinance...not an expert though so wait for someone else to chime in.

However, I agree with movie zombie. Dont do this unless you have to. If you have a lot of money tied up in the house you are giving
half of it away. You might be ok with this though.

 

[Haven]

Date: 4/20/2010 10:11:43 AM
Author: tyty333
Not an expert but I think you have do something called a quit claim deed to sign over part of the house. As far as getting him on the mortgage I think that you would have to refinance...not an expert though so wait for someone else to chime in.

However, I agree with movie zombie. Dont do this unless you have to. If you have a lot of money tied up in the house you are giving half of it away. You might be ok with this though.

That is what we did. DH and I bought our house together (meaning we shopped together and went in on the down pmt together) but originally I was the only name on the mortgage. We did this for a lot of reasons, the most important was that DH had not yet incorporated his business, so if something (heaven forbid) happened and he was sued or whatnot we didn''t want the house to be something that could be touched.

ANYWAY, once he figured out his business we refinanced the house for a better rate (4.75%, yay!) and put his name on the mortgage at that point.

I don''t remember what we did with the deed, though.

 

[lightningbug]

Property law is very complicated and varies by state. My advice is to meet with a reputable attorney who specializes in these kinds of family/property transactions, and then be specific about your goals. Since you''re getting married, it''s a PERFECT time to assess your needs and make a will, etc. anyway. She''ll have you talk through various scenarios, e.g., would you like him to share the responsibilities or get the benefits, or both? To what extent -- 50/50, or some other equitable split? What happens if you die before you''re married vs. after you''re married? What if you get divorced and need to sell-- do you want him to have half of the sale price of the house even though you made the down payment and have made the mortgage payments by yourself for years? Or do you want to be able to buy him out for what he contributed? Etc.

Don''t be intimidated ~ it''s a pain, but it''s good stuff to have worked through. You''ll feel great when it''s all sorted.

Also...I''ll join the others in suggesting that you be conservative. I''m sure you''ll have a wonderful marriage, but *if* something were to happen, you may not be happy about giving away half of your biggest asset. Nobody anticipates being the person on the wrong end of a divorce, but stuff happens. No matter how much you love him, you also want to protect yourself.

 

[zipzapgirl]

I''d never put anyone''s name on the mortgage or the deed without putting it on the other one as well. I don''t think it makes sense to seperate the debt and the asset--if push comes to shove, it could become a disaster.

If you are planning on living in the house more than 5 years, then make the transfer after you marry. If not, consider waiting until you sell the house and buy something new.

As far as leaving assets to your husband in the event of your untimely death, maybe it is better to just make a will and name your husband as the executor. You may face some probate charges, but I see this as an outlier issue with a very small probability.

 

[winternight]

My advice is don''t do it. You''re taking your property and making it community property without transferring any debt responsibility. No upside for you, only downside.

I''m pretty sure once you''re married he''ll get the tax benefits once you file joint. As for leaving it to him write a will, you need one anyways. And honestly even if you didn''t write a will under most (if not all) state law it would go to him anyways.

 

[asscherisme]

I did the opposite. During my divorce, I got the house and my ex signed a quit claim deed removing his name from the deed to our house and that made it in my name only.

Also, I had to refinance the home to get his name off he mortgage AND give him some cash out of the house because it was joint property so I ended up with a larger mortgage but its my house now. Thankfully I interited money soon after and now own my house outright.

I would think it through really carefully. If I ever marry again, I would not change the title of my house because what you go into marriage with usually remains yours if you leave the marriage. I would not give away 1/2 my house. Cynical maybe but also smart. NO way I would give away half my house. If I remarried and moved, the next house would be joint property however, the assets from the sale of my current house I would even then keep in a seperate account and never make them joint property.

Please don't do it or at a very minimum consult an attorney before you do. But I would protect yourself and not do it.

Also, if you put his name on your house and you have a mortgage in your name, you are giving him 1/2 the house without him being legally responsible for paying on it. Well except property taxes that would be the responsiblity of anyone on the title.

Just think really really carefully before you do it.

Adding a name to the deed is not the same thing as adding it to the mortgage. I don't think you can add a name to the mortgage without refinancing. (I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure thats the case)

Is this something he has asked you to do?

edited to add, if you ever got a divorce and you put his name on the title, you could be forced to sell and move. If you don't put his name on the title, its your house period.

 

[decodelighted]

Ya .. don''t do it. Our lawyer advised us against it. He''ll get the tax benefits when you''re married if you file jointly ... and you can leave the house to him in your will if you like. Especially if you think you''re likely to move in the next five years or so & roll the $$ gained into your next house, that you will jointly own.

 

[Octavia]

Date: 4/20/2010 11:19:23 AM
Author: asscherisme

edited to add, if you ever got a divorce and you put his name on the title, you could be forced to sell and move. If you don't put his name on the title, its your house period.

Not necessarily -- if joint money is used toward mortgage payments, taxes, and upkeep, that amount can be considered "commingled," making it joint property to be equitably divided. It really depends on a) the state you're in, and b) the specific circumstances. The spouses can keep a record of the source of the funds to prove that only one spouse contributed to the expenses, but most people don't track it that way. So there could, conceivably, be a situation in which one spouse holds title but the payments have been so commingled for so long that a court would consider it a joint asset. It's probably not the most likely scenario, but it's possible in some states (not all). A good real estate attorney would explain all of the details and the specific laws of the state for both unmarried and married partners, based on your actual circumstances, which is why I completely agree that girlface should consult one in her area before doing anything else.

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Date: 4/20/2010 1:23:18 PM
Author: Octavia

Date: 4/20/2010 11:19:23 AM
Author: asscherisme

edited to add, if you ever got a divorce and you put his name on the title, you could be forced to sell and move. If you don''t put his name on the title, its your house period.

Not necessarily -- if joint money is used toward mortgage payments, taxes, and upkeep, that amount can be considered ''commingled,'' making it joint property to be equitably divided. It really depends on a) the state you''re in, and b) the specific circumstances. The spouses can keep a record of the source of the funds to prove that only one spouse contributed to the expenses, but most people don''t track it that way. So there could, conceivably, be a situation in which one spouse holds title but the payments have been so commingled for so long that a court would consider it a joint asset. It''s probably not the most likely scenario, but it''s possible in some states (not all). A good real estate attorney would explain all of the details and the specific laws of the state for both unmarried and married partners, based on your actual circumstances, which is why I completely agree that girlface should consult one in her area before doing anything else.

I''d add that (in the UK, anyway) most standard securities or mortgages will have a clause preventing a change of title without the lender''s consent, so you really do need to take advice specific to your geographical area - you don''t want that loan called in because you''ve breached the conditions.

 

[jmtomaui]

Sorry - opted to delete my message.

 

[isaku5]

NO NO and NO - please don''t do this!! The three houses that we''ve lived in since our marriage, have all been in my name only. DH''s business is not incorporated and if he had been sued we would have lost the house. Yes, he carries liability insurance coverage for a million dollars, but still, things happen. He has been fine with this all the way along, btw.

 

[kenny]

I've been in a few relationships and have decided what is right for me is to keep the house I bought when I was single in my name but bequeath it to my SO in a will.

In a perfect world each partner would enter the relationship with exactly the same money/credit/assets.
Oh well.

 

[lilyfoot]

Hi girlface .. I thought maybe you hadn''t seen this yet:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/calling-girlface.141246/

 

[vespergirl]

Don''t do it. I bought a house before I married my first husband, but was smart enough to keep it in my name. When we divorced, I kept the house and he got nothing.

No one wants to plan for things not working out, but you have the ideal situation right now. There are other things he can do to benefit his credit that don''t have the potential of ruining your financial security.

 

[HVVS]

Date: 4/20/2010 3:49:41 PM
Author: kenny
I've been in a few relationships and have decided what is right for me is to keep the house I bought when I was single in my name but bequeath it to my SO in a will.

In a perfect world each partner would enter the relationship with exactly the same money/credit/assets.

Oh well.

I agree with that. If you bought it and have equity in it, keep it in your name and make the payments and let him pay for the utilities, groceries, and furniture. Leave the house to him in a will. Have a well-written prenuptial that defines which furnishings and personal property are yours and which are his, for anything owned before the marriage.

 

[lulu]

Date: 4/20/2010 1:23:18 PM
Author: Octavia

Date: 4/20/2010 11:19:23 AM
Author: asscherisme

edited to add, if you ever got a divorce and you put his name on the title, you could be forced to sell and move. If you don''t put his name on the title, its your house period.

Not necessarily -- if joint money is used toward mortgage payments, taxes, and upkeep, that amount can be considered ''commingled,'' making it joint property to be equitably divided. It really depends on a) the state you''re in, and b) the specific circumstances. The spouses can keep a record of the source of the funds to prove that only one spouse contributed to the expenses, but most people don''t track it that way. So there could, conceivably, be a situation in which one spouse holds title but the payments have been so commingled for so long that a court would consider it a joint asset. It''s probably not the most likely scenario, but it''s possible in some states (not all). A good real estate attorney would explain all of the details and the specific laws of the state for both unmarried and married partners, based on your actual circumstances, which is why I completely agree that girlface should consult one in her area before doing anything else.

Exactly.

 

[Prana]

Thank you for all the responses! I talked to my mortgage lender today, and they told me what I would need to do to make this happen. If we do anything, we will definitely be waiting until after we are married, because it makes it a lot easier.

And we do plan on moving withing the next 5 years, so now I''m thinking of just having a will made up, leaving everything to him, and his name can go on the new house when we move. I really don''t feel like doing all this paperwork!