Dealing with home bought before marriage in one spouse's name?

[jimbobwalton]

I got married recently .Our home is in my name only (had it before we got married). If anything should happen to me is the house transferred to my wife (in a will) or should I transfer the ownership to joint names now? What costs are involved either way

 

[ClubMan]

Re: Transfer Ownership

As far as I know there is no need to transfer ownership or specify the details in a will since the marriage contract secures for each spouse certain statutory rights to the family home and the estate of the other spouse should the pre-decease them. On the other hand it is very prudent to have an appropriate will especially when one has a spouse and/or dependents. Contact a solicitor for guidance. Check out for summary information about marriage and family home property rights and how an estate is divided up in the absence of a will.

 

[justsally]

Hello Jimbowalton,

If you want to put your family home in joint names there should be no difficulty in doing so. If your home is in Dublin you could give the Land Registry a call. Nassau Building, Setanta Centre, Nassau Street, Dublin 2.
Phone. 01 6707500. If your home is elsewhere they should be able to guide you as to whom you should contact. What it basically involved is changing the Register of Ownership of Freehold Land from your name to joint names. It's not a complicated matter There are some small administration fees, but well worth it to have peace of mind. You don't need to involve a solicitor. Just remember to keep copies of all documents you have in your possession and any ones that are amended. Hoping that you and your wife will live to a ripe old age so save yourselves any problems in the future.... BTW Been there, done that. cheers

 

[ClubMan]

You don't need to involve a solicitor.

Just to clarify - my recommendation about dealing with a solicitor was in relation to the will issue and not the issue of registering the property in the joint names of both spouses.

 

[Vanilla]

Although if there is a mortgage on the property its not so simple. And even if there isnt, before undertaking such a transfer you should take legal advice.

By the way, if you have no children, and you do not make a will, your wife will automatically inherit even if it is in your sole name, but she will have to take out a grant to your estate in order to have the property transferred into your name. If you do have children, she will not automatically inherit your full estate where you have not made a will and the property is in your sole name. So in those circumstances you should either make a will safeguarding the situation or as above, transfer the property into joint names.