House not in joint names

You need to get in touch with a good firm of solicitors.

thanks kitty

Yes, all of it! But you also have to be careful how you rearrange things as you can be seen to be depriving yourself of assets.

And, it's not just care home fees but care at home too!

What if you dont have a husband or wife or one of them has died...therfore the deeds are soley in the name of whoever is still alive.

How does it work with care home fees then? would "all" of the value of the house be taken into account?

Something we need to look into I think

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This article explains how Tenancey in common may be the answer to not losing the house to care home fees.

www.theguardian.com/money/2014/aug/28/tenancy-common-care-home-fee-solution

See
www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership

It isn't just about who inherits - care costs can be an issue too.

As things stand for th op the whole of the value of the house could be used to pay for care of her husband and there would be nothing left for anyone to inherit.

Holding the house as tenants in common is a good idea.

Ageuk have lots of good leaflets to download as a starting point.

I am a JP and if your home is NOT in joint names then rectify that immediately. The home will not automatically come to you. I have been witness to several wives/partners whose husbands/partners have passed away and the wives/partners are left out. Ours is a blended marriage and our home is in joint names with our 4 combined adult children as beneficiaries

Yep. Totally agree about wills not to be relied upon. A comma in the wrong place can make them thrown up in the air.

I think you should see a Solicitor as soon as possible.

On our deeds it stated "Joint Tenants" (not tenants in common)

When dh died his half automatically passed to me.

I sent death certificate and a certain form(sorry forgot what it was) and the Land Registry added an extra certificate to say that I was now the sole owner of the house and that dh name had been removed (not physically removed off the deed), but extra piece of paper stating it.

If DH will states you are to inherit house there should be no problem. Property is heritable ie a person can Will it to anyone they want to. If no Will property and assets are generally inherited by spouse. As you also contributed financially to the property and hopefully prove this there would be an allowance against value of property if there would be no Will. Doesn't seem as if you have a problem, just make sure of the terms of DH Will.

Dear Diana, I think your friend should contact the Office of the Public Guardian and raise her concerns. They may be able to look into it.

It's always a good way to start, Shortlegs.

Work out what you want jointly - including provision for any previous children, children of the marriage, what happens when one of you predeceases etc.

Then go to a GOOD solicitor.

Your name does need to be on the deeds. Also organise powers of attorney - and if with children, make it two if not three.

And talk to the solicitor about the pluses and minuses of tenants in common etc. Keep asking them to make it plain so you absolutely understand what would best fit your circumstances and ask them to email/write to you about their recommendations.

Don't rely on a will and don't rely on good will both can change.
If a wife gets cut out of a will she can challenge the will and get a judgment, a husband cannot leave his wife with nothing, so that is the fallback.
A friend of mine has a similar problem, his second marriage, 3 children by the first. They have been together 30 yrs, married for 18, he has dementure and is disposing of all his assets and giving the cash away, his son has power of attorney so she can do nothing.
His avowed intention is to leave her with nothing " I picked her up in a bar I've given her a good life now she can go back to the bar".
So she is having to divorce him to get a share of the house.

An extreme example but it does happen.

I need solicitors advice too, but anyone had experience of this problem? My husband looks likely to go into a care home, our house is joint owners and I think I should get it changed to tenants in common to protect my half should I did first, so I can leave it to our children rather than social services taking it all. But what if I needed to move\downsize would I be able to do you think?

Are there any wills at the moment and if so, what do they say? This could become a huge mess if there are DCs for both the OP and her second DH.

My friend's MIL was in a similar situation when she mother remarried, sold her house and moved in with her new DH who had 2 children.

The MIL made a contribution to refurbishing the 2nd DH's house but must have had money left over. The DCs from the DH's first marriage wanted to know how much. They saw the second wife as being on the make.

Both the OP and her DH should decide between themselves what would be the fairest way to leave their assets without depriving their own DcCs and GCs and then sit down and tell the beneficiaries what they plan for their wills.

Some people (not saying the OP is one of them) think the provisions of a will should be kept secret but IMHO everything should be out in the open to avoid unnecessary suspicions and bitter arguments in the future.

Just one thing to say - repeating what other GNs have said here. SEE A SOLICITOR.

From the nursing home point of view is it better for the house to be in joint names or tenants in common?

You need the deeds to be 50-50 and you then own half. Tenants in common is the term used for shared ownership. What a previous mortgage was for is irrelevant. As said previously if trying to be fair to all parties you can each decide to leave your share to your children giving your OH lifetime interest. Where as joint ownership automatically goes to the OH but it still needs to be registered on the deeds. Wills can be changed and contested so please don't rely solely on a will.

I agree with Monica in that instance. However not all circumstances are the same and a solicitor should be consulted before final decisions are made.
Tenants in Common. Gives choice when it comes to who each party wishes to inherit.
Joint Tenants.No choice as it goes to the remaining tenant.

He can leave the house to whomever he wants or it just becomes part of his estate. My sister got caught by this and lost a lot of money. The house was only in her husband’s name. He left her a percentage of his estate . As she wanted to stay in the house her lawyer negotiated that it would be part of her share. Had the house been in joint names she would have got her percentage PLUS the house.

Get some good legal advice about this. There is no point in others saying that this or that is the case. Each set of circumstances is different. For your own peace of mind get good professional advice about your situation. Everything else is just someone's opinion.

Also useful if you are lending family members money for deposit’s or general loans that are to be repaid when the house is sold