House to joint ownership?

Scotland may be different - and you should see a solicitor in any case.

But, assuming that you would want your wife to inherit the house if you die first, this is much simpler if it's in joint names because it would be automatic, and your wife wouldn't be involved in probate etc. as far as the property is concerned. Equally, you would again become the sole owner were she to die first.

If you want to change it you will need a solicitor to re-register the deeds in joint names - probably cost a few hundred quid.

I won't try to answer the main question, but Scotland has different rules on inheritance and also has different names for the two sorts of joint ownership, which may or may not exactly match tenants in common and joint tenants. As such I think being in Scotland is very significant.

It all depends on what you want to happen if you die before your wife. And I think you definitely need to talk to someone who knows Scottish law before deciding. But some brief points:

a. as others have said, Scotland does make a difference: its has different laws about joint ownership and about who inherits what;

b. if you want your wife to inherit, changing to joint ownership won't make any difference to the inheritance tax (if any) on your estate: everything passing from one spouse to another is exempt

c. if you die without making a will what happens depends on whether you have children but I think your wife would be entitled to inherit the house if it is worth less than £473,000

So off the cuff - and it is *not* something I know much about - the main difference I can see is that a form of "common ownership" means you wouldn't be able to try to disinherit your wife by a will leaving the house to someone else. (I say "try" as under Scottish law she'd have some rights in any event.) And I do hope you don't find that thought offensive: I'm just trying to cover the "what ifs?"

The details AIUI are a bit more complicated in Scotland than in E&W. But I *think* you'd want the house to be owned in common with a survivorship destination so that on death, the deceased spouse's share passes automatically to the surviving spouse.

And if you'll forgive me for stating the obvious, if you don't have a will making one would be a good idea to do whatever you decide about the house.

Would there be Stamp Duty if you add a new owner to the deeds of a house?

Robert

Both Stamp Duty Land Tax and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax have exemptions for straightforward transfers where there is no chargeable consideration.

That is interesting thank you.

I remember, long ago, I was selling my house and ended up swapping it with the buyer's house. We paid stamp duty only on the difference in values (the money that actually changed hands). I think that is not longer possible.

Yes, that quirk[1] of Stamp Duty was *not* carried over the SDLT in 2003

There are two forms of joint ownership - tenants in common and joint tenanc y (the word tenant doesn't mean what we all think it means here). If you ar e joint tenants then you both own all the house and when one of you dies th e survivor will simply now be the sole owner. If you are tenants in common then you each own only a share of the house (in money terms, not on a brick by brick basis). This means that you can, if you so desire, leave your sha re of the house to anyone at all, not necessarily your spouse. I own my hou se on a tenants in common basis but most people will be joint tenants by de fault unless they do something about it. And I don't think deeds come into it because they are now irrelevant (I think). It depends on what's on the L and Registry. But I'm referring to England not Scotland, where it may be different.

Many thanks to all who took the trouble to reply.

I have learnt some new phrases for the search engine and now believe that our best course of action is to consult a local (Scottish) solicitor. The most attractive way seems to be the "tenant in common" method being mindfull of a future nee for "long term" care. A form seems to be available for about £14 for DIY but probably safer, as suggested, in the long run to fork out 10 times that to have somone who understands the (legal) language.

Thanks again for the assistance.

There is no such thing as tenant in common in Scotland. The nearest equivalent appears to be joint ownership without a survivorship clause .

Anything done which might shift care costs onto the state must be done when those care costs are not reasonably foreseeable.

If you are over 65, in Scotland, I believe that the state funds the care component of care homes, but not the hotel (accommodation and food) part .

Ok - that clarifies things quite a bit. We are nowhere near ready for care yet - but looks like we need to do our "extravagant living" sooner rather than later!

Much appreciated .

This was used by housebuilders who would purchase buyers' homes in order to facilitate sales.