[Help] Question - property / divorce settlement / death (cheerful, I know!)

[alanfp]

This board has been so helpful (to myself and to others) that I thought I'd try asking here.

I am joint owner of a house with my ex-wife as a joint tenant so that on the death of one of us, their part passes automatically to the surviving joint owner. However further to our divorce (decree absolute obtained), there is now a court order in place that the house must be sold and that I should receive 40% of the proceeds and my ex-wife 60%.

The house sale is taking way longer than it should, and my question is around what happens if one of us dies before the house is sold. For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that it's me.

So the question is:
If I die before the house is sold, does my share pass automatically to my ex-wife as the surviving joint owner or does the court order remain valid such that the house must still be sold and my executor would pursue the claim for my 40% ?

A bit of a niche question, perhaps, but it must have affected someone here in the past. And I couldn't find the answer with quite a bit of Googling. If there's a lawyer on here or anyone who has been in this position and knows how it would work I'd be very grateful.

TIA

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I’m certainly no expert but I imagine your 40% will go to your estate and then be dealt with by your will.

I’d certainly seek legal advice though.

 

[Whoislloydy]

The property is still held as a joint tenants, your share would pass to her automatically to her upon your death, regardless of any court order.

Unless the court has ordered a severance of the of the joint tenancy.

 

[portlock seagull]

The property is still held as a joint tenants, your share would pass to her automatically to her upon your death, regardless of any court order.

Unless the court has ordered a severance of the of the joint tenancy.

My interpretation of too.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The property is still held as a joint tenants, your share would pass to her automatically to her upon your death, regardless of any court order.

Unless the court has ordered a severance of the of the joint tenancy.

But wouldn’t the court order involve a claim on the land registry as protection? I was involved in a very different situation but had a court order for an amount of money on someone’s house (a slippery Hove property management guy)? who I was suing. We obtained a court order on his family home and we had an entry in the land registry to protect us. He had a period of grace whereby he could pay me, otherwise a sale was triggered.

 

[Whoislloydy]

But wouldn’t the court order involve a claim on the land registry as protection? I was involved in a very different situation but had a court order for an amount of money on someone’s house (a slippery Hove property management guy)? who I was suing. We obtained a court order on his family home and we had an entry in the land registry to protect us. He had a period of grace whereby he could pay me, otherwise a sale was triggered.

A court ordered sale doesn't appear on a land title. In your instance, they placed a lien against the title on the family home for money owed. The court likely gave the guy X amount of time to pay up, otherwise a court would order the sale, and you were 2nd in line after the mortgage company who placed the original lien.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

A court ordered sale doesn't appear on a land title. In your instance, they placed a lien against the title on the family home for money owed. The court likely gave the guy X amount of time to pay up, otherwise a court would order the sale, and you were 2nd in line after the mortgage company who placed the original lien.

Fair enough.

 

[Chicken Run]

This board has been so helpful (to myself and to others) that I thought I'd try asking here.

I am joint owner of a house with my ex-wife as a joint tenant so that on the death of one of us, their part passes automatically to the surviving joint owner. However further to our divorce (decree absolute obtained), there is now a court order in place that the house must be sold and that I should receive 40% of the proceeds and my ex-wife 60%.

The house sale is taking way longer than it should, and my question is around what happens if one of us dies before the house is sold. For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that it's me.

So the question is:
If I die before the house is sold, does my share pass automatically to my ex-wife as the surviving joint owner or does the court order remain valid such that the house must still be sold and my executor would pursue the claim for my 40% ?

A bit of a niche question, perhaps, but it must have affected someone here in the past. And I couldn't find the answer with quite a bit of Googling. If there's a lawyer on here or anyone who has been in this position and knows how it would work I'd be very grateful.

TIA

You say the house sale is taking way longer than it should, could i ask, have you agreed a sale and currently going through the conveyance or is the house for sale currently and as yet a buyer hasn’t been found?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Have you made a will?

 

[alanfp]

Have you made a will?

Yes, I've made a will (and that doesn't state that any of my property passes to her).

You say the house sale is taking way longer than it should, could i ask, have you agreed a sale and currently going through the conveyance or is the house for sale currently and as yet a buyer hasn’t been found?

We have agreed that we want to do a bit of tidying/re-carpeting two rooms before selling to achieve a better price, but she is dragging her heels. So it's not even on the market yet.

 

[POSKETT AT THE VALLEY]

This board has been so helpful (to myself and to others) that I thought I'd try asking here.

I am joint owner of a house with my ex-wife as a joint tenant so that on the death of one of us, their part passes automatically to the surviving joint owner. However further to our divorce (decree absolute obtained), there is now a court order in place that the house must be sold and that I should receive 40% of the proceeds and my ex-wife 60%.

The house sale is taking way longer than it should, and my question is around what happens if one of us dies before the house is sold. For the sake of simplicity, let's assume that it's me.

So the question is:
If I die before the house is sold, does my share pass automatically to my ex-wife as the surviving joint owner or does the court order remain valid such that the house must still be sold and my executor would pursue the claim for my 40% ?

A bit of a niche question, perhaps, but it must have affected someone here in the past. And I couldn't find the answer with quite a bit of Googling. If there's a lawyer on here or anyone who has been in this position and knows how it would work I'd be very grateful.

TIA

Don’t speculate. Invest in a solicitor for clarity. It will be money well spent.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Yes, I've made a will (and that doesn't state that any of my property passes to her).

We have agreed that we want to do a bit of tidying/re-carpeting two rooms before selling to achieve a better price, but she is dragging her heels. So it's not even on the market yet.

Forget sprucing it up (apart from tidying up) and get it on the market.

 

[albionalba]

Don’t speculate. Invest in a solicitor for clarity. It will be money well spent.

I agree.....as long as it's a good solicitor....and they will also be able to guide your executor if they hit any push-back in carrying out the wishes expressed in your will.

Sorry to hear of such a hassle of a situation. It's amazing how many folk think that divorce is a breeze these days. It really isn't if ther are any complications like this.

 

[Chicken Run]

Yes, I've made a will (and that doesn't state that any of my property passes to her).

We have agreed that we want to do a bit of tidying/re-carpeting two rooms before selling to achieve a better price, but she is dragging her heels. So it's not even on the market yet.

Ooh

My advice would be not to spend any money on it

 

[mwrpoole]

Can you not change the ownership to ‘tenant's in common’ rather than joint tenants? You can do it online as I have done in recent past.